New Generation
by PotentiallyHarmful
Summary: Now that the trolls have narrowly escaped the wrath of the Condescension, they appear in a new world. No one knows what's in store for these troll kids...
1. Chapter 1

LAST TIME.

ACT 2

Finally. FINALLY after a long agonizing traumatizing twenty minute long walk, they come to... a giant slanted rock. There are two white wands stuck in the ground in an X.

"W-what is... that?..." Aradia stares for a second. The Handmaid's wands.

"S-S0me0ne, please pick t-th0se up f0r me." Nepeta is quick and slithers carefully through everyone and goes under Equius' and Aradia's legs and gets up to the wands. She picks them up and a giant black hole suddenly opens up on the giant rock in front of them. It swirls red and flashes other colors...

"Handmaid... S-she used the la-last 0f her p0wers t-t0 make us a way 0ut..."

"THAT'S WHY SHE LEFT..." Karkat remembers when she left him and Eridan there because she trusted them. She was probably setting all of this up in the mean time, waiting for the chance!... The chance to let some worthless fucking kids escape to who knows where...

Nepeta looks back at Aradia with her big green eyes...

"G0 in... We're g-g0ing. Every0ne p-please g0 first... I can't h-h0ld this f0r any l0nger..." The others try as carefully as they can to slip by Aradia and Equius and look at the portal... They go in order...

Nepeta. Karkat. Vriska. Kanaya. Terezi. Tavros. Feferi. Eridan.

Equius looks down at Aradia.

"Are you ready?"

"I've been ready... f0r twenty minutes y0u d0rk..."

"Right then."

"Carefully..." Equius QUICKLY turns around... The water tunnel wobbles a little, but it stays up... He backs up slowly with her and into the portal.

The water tunnel disappears and collapses on itself.

()

()

Everyone finally comes from the other end of the swirling black and purple portal and the warm air hits everyone in their faces and on their bloody skin. It's a soft breeze.

"Wow it smells great here!... Look! WOW!" She runs forward into a giant field of small red purple and white flowers growing out of a hard cracked desert ground... Karkat looks at them all and forward. It's flowers farther than the eye can see. The sky is a strange blue color... It looks like the human Earth's sky, clouds floating by as pure white as anything can get.

"WOW. UH... WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE?"

"W3LL K4RKL3S 1F 1 H4D TO GU3SS, 1'D S4Y W3'R3 1N 4 H4LF W4Y WORLD. JUST 4 GU3SS THOUGH."

"A HALF WAY WORLD HUH?... WHY DO YOU SAY HALF WAY?"

"1 DUNNO. 1T JUST F33LS L1K3 W3'R3... NOT QU1T3 4NYWH3R3 R1GHT NOW."

"Not anywhere? Terezi I think you've lost it."

"SHUT UP VR1SK4." Vriska rolls her eyes and looks at the others behind her. Kanaya is wiping some blood dripping over her eye from her head and onto the Dolorosa's outfit that turns out is actually way too big on her, Dolorosa having been so tall. Tavros is just letting go of Eridan and Feferi's arms to go check on Aradia. Who falls over...

"Aradia!" Equius picks her up quickly and holds her close as softly as he can.

"I'm...0kay. I just need... a little rest is all. D0n't w0rry ab0ut me." Her eyes stay closed and she just rests and relaxes in Equius' hold.

"iS SHE OKAY?"

"Yes... she appears to be alright, however she used all of her energy to save us... Just as her ancestor did I suppose."

"sO... sO ALL OF THEM... tHEY'RE ALL... REALLY GONE?"

"Yes... I am afraid so... They're all gone." Tavros looks down and bites his lip with his sharp teeth, drawing a little bit of muddy orange blood. Feferi comes over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. He turns to her and puts his hands over his eyes and begins to cry quietly. She holds him and rests her head on his. Eridan peeks over and just... folds his arms. He can't believe any of this. Dualscar... He's gone... The one and only person who got him... who is him... The only one who talked to him like a normal person and gave him some sort of at least partially close relationship... He's gone... and now any support he had is gone... Eridan takes off his broken glasses and stares at them... Dualscar didn't have glasses... He sighs and throws them to the side, being worthless now. Everything is extremely blurry and he has to squint to even sort of see something... He looks up at the blur and mixture of purple red and white and... something darker? A big blob of dark.

"Hey, wwhat's that?" Everyone looks over at him and then over to what he's pointing.

Off to the side there's a large hive with a storage holding unit...

"Th-those weren't there a second ago were they?" Feferi looks over at it with the others, Tavros wiping his eyes hard.

"iS... THAT A HIVE?"

"It Appears To Be So... Should We Go And Investigate It?" Kanaya turns to Feferi and Eridan and notices something about Eridan at the same time that the seadwellers notice something about her.

"Hey! You're eyes ain't wwhite anymore!"

"Yours Aren't Either!"

"SAY WHAT NOW GUYS?" Karkat turns to face them and Tavros points at Karkat!

"yOU'RE EYES ARE BACK TO NORMAL TOO!"

"WHAT THE FUCK? LIKE HOW NORMAL? NORMAL HOW?"

"Like... Normal Like We Are Alive Karkat."

"WHOA! NORMAL... ALIVE? THERE'S NO WAY." Vriska goes over to Aradia quickly.

"Open your eyes Megido." Aradia tiredly opens her eyes...

"How the hell is this possi8le? Aradia's alive too!" They all just look at each other rather confused...

"Do you think... the others did this for us?"

"DID WHAT NEPETA?" Nepeta turns to Karkat quickly and throws her arms in the air!

"I mean, do you think when they died for real real they maybe gave us their life force?"

"Imp0ssible..." Nepeta swings her head to Aradia.

"Why is it impawssible?!"

"0ne can n0t give a life f0rce that they d0n't have... They didn't have any life f0rce t0 give."

"W3LL M4YB3 1T W4S /YOUR/ 4NC3STOR 4R4D14. 1 M34N, SH3 W4S 4 W1TCH 4FT3R 4LL R1GHT?"

"It c0uld be that... But I h0nestly d0n't think even she c0uld bring s0me0ne back t0 life... let al0ne f0ur of us."

"dO YOU THINK MAYBE GAMZEE..." Kanaya looks over at Tavros and frowns a little...

"Tavros, We're Not Even Sure Where Gamzee Is. Or If He Escaped That World..." Tavros just looks down at his feet and bites the inside of his lip sadly. But Kanaya holds out her bloody hand out for him.

"Come, Let's Go Inside And See If We Can Find Anything Useful In There."

"W)(at if someone lives t)(ere? We can't just..."

"If someone lives there we will simply ask if we may come in." Equius turns and faces the group with Aradia resting in his arms still.

"OR WE'LL KICK THEM THE FUCK OUT AND TAKE OVER THE PLACE, WE'VE GOT NUMBERS."

"OH K4RK4T JUST R3L4X. COM3 ON GUYS." She walks forward towards the black licorice scent. Feferi watches after her and... frowns a little. She's still really sad about Redglare... Dang it...

"Terezi!" She runs up to Terezi and takes her hand in her own and rubs their cheeks together to cheer her up. Terezi smiles a little in her direction as a small thanks and keeps walking. Everyone soon follows with their own thoughts weighing down their minds...

After about thirty feet they all get to the front door of the place. Karkat walks up and knocks loudly on it.

"HEY CAN WE COME IN!?"

"K4RK4T R34LLY TH4T'S RUD3!"

"THEY CAN DEAL WITH IT." No one answers... so Karkat gives another knock and stays quiet...

"i DON'T, UH... i DON'T THINK ANYONE IS HERE." Vriska comes up and shoves Karkat out of the way and KICKS the door open!

"Vriska that wasn't very nice!" Nepeta wags a finger at her.

"No one is even here, who cares a8out 8eing nice?" Vriska walks inside and looks around pretty quick. Oh shit she's got her vision eight fold back! HELL YES.

"No one lives here guys. I mean... there's stuff, but it looks like it was prepared may8e?" She walks in as the others peek in and slowly step inside with her. They walk into the living unit where rear pillows (couch) and a table are with twelve special chairs, a few windows, a cold food storage (fridge) in the cooking area with... cabinets. FILLED with all sorts of food products from Alternia!

"WHOA! Look at all the food in there guys!"

"Yes, And Look At The Nice Rear Cushions And The Table! Oh My, Look At The Seats..." Every seat is different. There is a seat for all twelve trolls if all twelve were there... Feferi's and Eridan's chairs are literally aquariums with little fish of their respective colors and cushions on the seats. Gamzee's, if only he were there was a little circus clown bending all the wrong ways... Its arms are back for the arm rests and his back is curved unnaturally along with his legs to make the rear dip and the legs... which somehow he has four of. Disturbing looking thing, "as usual" Karkat thinks to himself. Equius' chair is a fucking rocking horse. An old wooden rocking horse with little reigns and a mane and leather ears. Vriska's chair is just... a spider web chair. It looks really thin and JUST made out of spider webs... Terezi's chair looks like a judge's chair with a lot of bright colors for her to smell and taste. Kanaya's chair is a rather nice troll Victorian jade green fluffy velvet fabric with dark wood. Nepeta's is a large bear fur covered chair with claws paw pads up and claws out. Sollux's chair is red and blue with his sign in the center... He'd probably love it... Tavros' chair is a wheely chair that he can spin around in and it's childishly decorated in Fidu Spawn stuff. Aradia's is... just a normal chair, but it's decorated with engraved floral patterns and a red tie cushion on the seat. And finally, Karkat's seat is a big floaty shaped like a wrigglers pool toy.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THAT GOD DAMN THING!? WHAT IS ANY OF THIS SHIT?!"

"Oh Eridan look how CUT-E! These have to be ours! They have our colors on them!"

"Wwhy isn't yours a fuckin' throne?"

"Oh gosh I don't want it to be a throne this is perfect!" She goes to her chair quickly and looks it over happily.

"Awww look how adorable the fish are!" Eridan walks over and is just happy she's happy for now... But seeing her tyrant pink blood on her gray skin makes him frown a little.

"I'm gonna go look for bandages or somefin..." He turns and goes to walk out another door but runs right into the door frame.

"Oww fuck." He can't see worth a shit without his damn glasses. Feferi gasps and winces at just the sound of his skull smacking against the wood.

"Oh gosh Eridan. You're bleeding."

"I'm bleedin' evverywwhere else too. Everyone's bleedin'... I wwas gonna go get some fuc- uh, flippin' bandages for ya but yeah. Wwall."

"I'll help you find them! Four eyes are better than one."

"8 eyes are 8etter than four!" Vriska chimes in with a little grin.

"Well you come help too!"

"Ah shit. Fine." The three of them walk out into a different area where there are other rooms.

"W3LL 1 C4N'T S33 4 D4NG TH1NG. C4N SOM3ON3 T3LL TH3 BL1ND CH1CK WH4T TH3 H3LL 1S GO1NG ON?"

"uH, WELL THERE ARE A LOT OF CHAIRS, ONE FOR EVERY ONE OF US. eVEN UH, THE ONES WHO AREN'T HERE. bUT UH, EVERY CHAIR LOOKS LIKE IT WAS MADE FOR US. tHEY LOOK AWESOME! i KNOW WHICH ONE IS YOUR CHAIR. cOME HERE." Tavros takes Terezi's hand and walks her over to her chair and she sits down.

"OOOOH! TH1S TH1NG SM3LLS 4M4Z1NG! CH3RRY R3D, L1M3 GR33N, 4 LOV3LY OR4NG3 T4NG3R1N3, L3MON Y3LLOW, TH3R3'S SO M4NY! TH1S 1S F4NT4ST1C!" She feels around and smells and then turns and starts licking at it. Tavros just sorta... backs up a little and laughs nervously. He's never gotten used to it really. Equius has already quickly gone and searched for a room for Aradia to rest. And oddly enough he finds a room that looks almost exactly like her hive. Well, he guesses this is what it looked like. Lots of flarping posters, red dice, flarping strategy books, a ... gardening shovel? A small wind up music box, a pickax and a hanger for her whip... Extraordinary... He goes to her recupracoon and... doesn't DARE undress her. So he simply and very carefully props her upright in his arms and gently slides her down into her dark red recupracoon and sopor... She slips in and curls up into a ball. He looks down into it... be decides it's pretty creepy to watch someone when they're sleeping. So he goes out and closes her door for privacy. Nepeta RUSHES by him and is jumping all around excitedly. It hurts because she's bleeding in several places, but she wants to look around!

"Nepeta, please refrain from moving so much. You'll tear your wounds further and they'll take longer to heal!"

"NUUUP!"

"Nepeta Leijon redirect your rump over here this instant."

"Oh fiiiiiine." She jumps down from her position on the wall and walks over to him.

"So you put Aradia to bed?"

"Yes. She is in much need of it. However you need taking care of as well. I still have to find the—"

"8andages!" Vriska holds them right between the meowrails and smiles.

"Ah. Thank you Vriska."

"Also Here Is Some Gauze, Rubbing Alcohol—"

"And ointment!" Feferi and Kanaya hold everything up and smile at their success.

"Where on Alternia did you find all of this?"

"Whale, it was just sorta... there." Eridan walks up with a first aid kit of some sort and holds it up as well.

"Yeah, it's spread out evverywwhere. My question is wwho the hell kneww wwe wwere comin'?"

"Maybe They Weren't Aware Of US Coming Per Se, But Perhaps Anyone That May Find This Place And Need Shelter, Food And Medical Supplies."

"So wwe wwere just lucky enough to meander and happen upon it?"

"It could be! But I think this is a good thing... After all that we all could use a break."

"Yeah. Let's get in the main livin' quarters and get evveryone bandaged and shit." The others nod and head down the hall.

"Equius did you see you're cute little chair at the table?" Nepeta looks up at him excitedly. Even after everything that just happened and everyone dying, she was able to quickly become happy like this. It baffled Equius.

"I did not. I was focused on getting Aradia some help. I have a 'cute little chair'?"

"Yeah come on!" She runs off and Equius just walks because he'll get there eventually anyway. Kanaya looks at everyone. Eridan who lost someone who almost appeared as a sort of lusus to him... Equius who found someone stronger than him and gained respect... Vriska who finally got to meet the real life Spinneret Mindfang ... Herself... Dolorosa did so much to try and help... With her Jade class she wasn't trained to fight. To run and to jump and to hold a weapon... She had to learn herself and she fought until the end... She died with a smile...

Aradia found someone to teach her more about her powers and her feelings, and Tavros who had finally gotten someone to boost his esteem and show him what sort of strength he had to look forward too... Sollux got to meet someone who could truly understand his powers and his aches and struggles, Nepeta found an equal and a teacher; Terezi gained and lost a friend who shared her interests...

Karkat got to meet the only person in the universe with his blood... He taught Karkat a lot. Kanaya knows it. She sees it in the way he looks and moves and talks now...

Gamzee... did he REALLY gain anything from all of this?... The poor thing along with Karkat was taken away. He was mentally and physically tortured by his ancestor. Gamzee went totally nuts and was really going to kill them for a while... When he started holding back though, she knew something was up. He'd somehow figured out what was happening and did his best to control himself... Even with Karkat and Tavros there he was still doing everything in his power to not lose himself again... To black out and not know that he's hurting his friends...

And then Feferi... She has to be associated with someone so evil when she is nothing like the Condesce... She has at least a couple good things in common though... Feferi is persistent and she stood up for herself and for the people she wanted to desperately to protect. She showed the witch that she isn't weak.

Kanaya knows that no matter what the Condescension said about Feferi being weak and unworthy of having tyrant blood, that she is better than that woman could ever hope to be...

Vriska notices Kanaya's lagging behind... and then that she doesn't look so good. But she doesn't call her out on it. She knows that everyone's going through a hard time and are deep in their thoughts... Vriska turns around and just enters the living r-

Terezi is licking her chair.

Sigh. Typical Terezi.

"Is there at least some kinda plastic on the chair Terezi? Come on you have to sit in that, gross!"

"OOOH STOP YOU, L3T M3 L1CK MY OWN CH41R!"

"UUUUUGH. Tereziiiii." Tavros is standing next to Karkat who's still staring at the floaty crab toy that he still hopes is not actually his.

"sO UH... wHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO KARKAT?" Silence... He looks over at Karkat and sorta chuckles. The annoyed look on Karkat's face was a little too funny so Tav laughs.

"THE HEEELLLL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT? LOOK AT THIS THING?"

"Hey wwait a second wwe wwere just talkin' about howw wwe didn't knoww if wwhoevver wwas here wwas wwaitin' for US specifically. So wwhy then wwould wwe each havve our owwn separate chairs that belong to each of us?"

"Huh. Good point for once egg 8rain."

"EGG brain?"

"Salmon eggs. Get it? Ha Ha. So someone really was expecting us then."

"Hey don't just go off subject like that!"

"Eridan let's sit at our seats so I can patch you up."

"Fef, you need it more than me..."

"No... You fought so much and so hard and had to go through so much—"

"Fef—"

"Eridan..." He looks down at her and frowns a little.

"Please just... let me help you okay?" They're quiet while the others mumble about the chairs to each other.

"If you insist Fef... Princess."

"Hey, cut that out right now. What even brought that up?" She leads the nearly blind Eridan over to their chairs and sits him in his and then sits in hers.

"I dunno Fef... I just... I wwas left alone wwith my thoughts for a long time on the ship. I thought hard about lots a' stuff... and I don't mean to sound creepier than usual but... I thought a lot about you." It was becoming a little awkward for Feferi now... She hated it when he talked like this.

"H-Hey don't look like that already you didn't evven let me finish."

"I'm sorry Eridan... you just—"

"I knoww wwhat I used to do. I knoww howw I wwas... and I honestly wwanted... to tell ya that I wwas sorry..." Feferi looks up from bandaging his arm a little and sees him looking down at his knees... The look on his face makes her frown. It's so sad and deep in thought. She even thinks for a second that he looks like he's growing up.

"You're sorry?"

"Yeah I'm sorry. I look back noww at myself and I'm actually pretty disgusted. I wwas desperate. I didn't wwant to be alone. And I'm sorry for pushin' myself on you the wway I did. I lovved you so much... and I wwanted you to feel the same wway. It wwas a foolish dream. It'll alwways be a foolish dream. I hate Sollux for takin' you outta my grasp. I hate him for making you happier than I evver could. I hate the wway you twwo look at each other because I knoww wwhat's happenin'... But wwhen I wwas sure I lost you completely when Dualscar and I took Gam and Karkat... I didn't knoww wwhat to do wwith myself... I sat on the ship and just wwatched the stars that wwere reflectin' on the wwater... and I just hoped that you wwere okay." Eridan continues to stare at his knees while Feferi just watches him... She's sort of surprised. All of this...

"I was very disappointed in you Eridan... but... I never hated you... I was really angry. You did so good when we were on the escape pod. You did SO GOOD...then you went off and did all that... I wanted you to change for the better. I don't want anyone to hate you, I only want the best for you because you're my friend."

"I knoww. And that makes me mad too. That I'm only you're friend. But I respect wwhat you'vve chosen... or rather WWHO you'vve chosen. Because evvven though I'm flushed for ya like no one else, I can lovve you enough to let you go and not hold you back from bein' happy..." He doesn't look up. Feferi stays quiet and thinks... then she continues on to cleaning his forehead free of blood. Neither of them speak until Feferi is done cleaning, medicating and bandaging Eridan up. They hand off and Eridan starts to carefully clean her wounds. He's never really felt her skin before. It's soft and even more amazing than he imagined. But he tries his best to not look like he's staring. The other side of the room is talking about other ridiculous chair things but are also bandaging themselves and each other up.

"SO WHY DO YOU GUYS TH1NK TH4T WHO3V3R D1D TH1S CH41R TH1NG... D1D 1T? WHY BOTH3R?"

"Yeah what's the point of helping us out? It's sorta 8othering me."

"And why, if they were e%pecting us, would they put out Gamzee's and Sollux's chairs out?"

"MAYBE THEY THOUGHT WE'D ALL BE HERE ALL VICTORIOUS AND SHIT..." Everyone becomes quiet and look at each other.

"Oooor~~~" Nepeta starts, "they're waiting for all of us to get together again and we'll all meet back here!"

"We should all listen to Nepeta! She's the positive one here!" Feferi smiles over at her and they giggle to each other, bandages in place. It's hard for everyone to stay positive after everything they just went through...

"SO WH4T'S TO 34T? 1'M ST4RV1NG." Terezi folds her legs and kicks one foot.

"Ah, Let Me See." Kanaya walks over and into the kitchen and opens the fridge.

"Oh My. There's Lots Of Stuff In Here. I Suppose We Can Have Whatever We Want From Here. There's So Much In Here It Would Hardly Matter Who Ate What."

"ANY MELLONS IN THERE?" Karkat gets up quickly and goes over next to her, peeking in the fridge.

"Hmmm..."

"OH! THERE IT IS!" He reaches in over the door to grab it but his arm's a little too short so he lifts a leg and reeeeaches! Kanaya goes to get it for him but he lightly swats at her.

"NU! I WANNA GET IT." Reach reach. Kanaya just chuckles a little when Karkat finally grabs the fruit with his nails.

"Happy Now?"

"FUCK YES."

"Language."

"YOU'RE NOT MY LUSUS KANAYA." That's a common joke the two of them share so it's just a little smile cracker for them. Kanaya thinks about everyone else and then everyone starts calling out their favorite food, rushing up to the fridge and peeking in.

"Meat! Meat Meat Meat!" Nepeta sniffs a little and looks around happily.

"Spicy fried gallina anywhere?"

"1 SM3LL 1T 1N TH3 B4CK VR1SK4."

"Ah! Sweet!" Vriska grabs back and grasps the box of the cold cluckbeast bits.

Nepeta eventually grabs a nice hunk of oinkmeat while Tavros reaches in for a plastic jar of peanut butter and raspberry jam and then reaches above the fridge for the bread. Terezi goes over to Karkat who's getting a knife to cut his melon and sniffs around.

"K4RKL3S 4R3 TH3R3 4NY 4LMONDS 4ROUND H3R3? 1N TH3 C4B1N3TS?"

"OH, UH, LET ME SEE." He opens the doors one by one and spots some.

"HUH. FOUND SOME. HERE YA GO."

"SW33333T. TH4NKS." She takes the bag and yanks the top open and starts grabbing almonds three at a time and crunching on them loudly. Equius leans in a little bit with his hands carefully placed at his sides.

"Kanaya is there perhaps an apple in there?" Kanaya looks around and bends over to the fruit drawer and moves aside some oranges.

"What Color Dear?"

"Are there any Fiji's?"

"Yes there is. Here you are."

"Oh thank you very much." He takes it as carefully as he can from her and then walks off and eats it happily. Before Kanaya stands back up, Feferi and Eridan manage to snag their foods, which both happen to be plastic containers of salad and little packets of ranch inside. Kanaya looks back at them with a smile and they smile back, going to get forks.

Finally Kanaya reaches into the fruit drawer again and takes out an avocado. Her now jade green eyes light up happily as she takes it out and closes the door.

"Oh Yes!" She fist pumps once into the air and goes over to the utensils drawers.

Many hours passed eating and snacking and exploring the hew hive and talking. Everyone's respitblocks are exactly the same as they were before the game. Nepeta just stares at her warm cave in shock... Her shipping wall and the rugs of animals her and Pounce de Leon killed together... Vriska looks at her room and just pouts. She hated her hive and her respitblock after being there for so long when making it as a child. It was soooooooo lame. Maybe she'll change it while she's here. Tavros looks at the ramp and glares at it a little going over and moving it... and then realizing that his recupracoon is wider at the top. So wide... that his horns might be able to fit! His eyes go huge and he can't believe this! Who made this place?! How did they make it? This is so weird, but he's so happy to have his horns fit! He jumps up and dunks his head AND HORNS into the sopor and he just relaxes with a sigh. Karkat passes by.

"THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TAVROS?" Tavros swoops his head out of the green sopor and turns his now wet and gooy green hair to Karkat.

"mY HORNS FIT!"

"THEY DIDN'T FIT BEFORE?"

"nO! tHEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN TO BIG, BUT NOW THEY FIT!" He smiles super widely, his super sharp teeth shining with glee. Karkat smiles and thumbs up.

"WELL AWESOME TAVROS. I'M GLAD THIS WORKED OUT FOR YOU... WOW YOU GOT A LOT OF FIDU SPAWN STUFF IN HERE."

"yEAH! i LOVE THAT GAME. tHE CREATUERS ARE ALWAYS SO CUTE!"

"I GUESS SO."

"wHAT ABOUT YOUR ROOM?" Karkat smiles a little bit.

"IT'S THE SAME AS EVER. IT'S SORTA NICE. BUT IT'S ALSO PRETTY DECEIVING. BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE NOT REALLY AT HOME YOU KNOW? IT'S A NICE RELAXING THING TO BE IN A FAMILIAR PLACE AFTER SO MANY SWEEPS... BUT..."

"oH YEAH... i GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. bUT I SAY WE MAKE THE BEST OF THE TIME WE HAVE HERE."

"I GUESS SO."

"iS EVERYONE ELSE IN THEIR ROOMS?"

"WELL FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN YEAH." He walks in a little and whispers a hair.

"I'M FEELING SOME AWKWARD FEELINGS GOING AROUND TOO."

"oH YOU MEAN FEFERI AND ERIDAN? yEAH I NOTICED THAT TOO. wHY DO YOU THINK?"

"DUH, ROMANTIC SHIT. ERIDAN IS TRYING TO SUPRESS HIS RED FEELINGS FOR FEFERI EVEN THOUGH HE ADMITED TO RESPECTING HER WISHES, AND IT'S REALLY AWKWARD BETWEEN THE BOTH OF THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR PAST AND THEIR OLD QUADRANTS. I WISH I COULD HELP, YA KNOW JUST TALK TO THE TWO OF THEM SEPARATELY AND TOGETHER AND SORT SOME STUFF OUT SO THEY CAN BE COOL WITH EACH OTHER."

"wOW... THAT IS PRETTY AWKWARD. i'M GLAD I'M NOT IN THEIR SITUATION. wHAT ABOUT YOU?"

"ME? OH SHIT UH... WELL THAT'S KINDA PERSONAL AND I GUESS I'M STILL KINDA..."

"tHINKING ABOUT IT?"

"SORTA? SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IT'S WEIRD AND I DON'T WANNA RUN INTO ANY BUMPS IN THE WAY TO FILLING A QUADRANT, SO I'M JUST TAKING IT SLOW AND STUFF."

"tHAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA-"

"Equiuuuuuuuus!" Karkat and Tavros look at each other with big eyes and they just know.

Equius knows too. He speed walks to Aradia's room and opens the door a little.

"Y0u c0uld have put me 0n the gr0und! N0t in my recuprac00n with my cl0thes 0n!"

"I appoplogize, I only wanted to help you heal faster and to relax!"

"IN MY CL0THES?"

"Was I supposed to undress you?"

"N0!"

"Then explain why you are complaining when I could have taken the opportunity to be extremely perverted and disrobed you and didn't?" Aradia squints at him and makes her lips into a tight line.

"Next time just set me 0n the fl00r Equius."

"I will remember."

Over in Kanaya's room she has her hands together happily as she looks at her room, exactly the way she left it! It's strange, all of this being the same, but she's far too happy to give a shit. She walks around quickly and goes to the window. It isn't her beautiful sunny lawn ring, but the field of flowers and the dark sky is still beautiful.

Feferi was in her room and found it a bit different. Her room had no water... But as she searched, she found a new button where a light switch would have been. She presses it curiously and a hole in the ground opens up to... a fish tank! WITH CUTTLE FISH! Feferi GASPS and jumps right in! She's so excited! There are pictures and some of her things in the giant tank and the cuttle fish swarm her happily.

In Eridan's room he looks at everything with a sort of contempt... Things in his room... Such childish things... Old treasure maps that were more than worthless now... Statues of wizards, little piles of gold... Books on the shelf had to do with magic and science and quadrants and ridiculous rubbish... The only things worth keeping are his military books and weapons. Everything else... He had to get rid of this awful shit. It only disgusts Eridan now.

He walks over to where his computer used to be... and sees a purple cape and a stripped scarf. Eridan picks these things up with one hand... and just stares at them. He can't decide what to do with these things... The cape?... It looks so dumb now that he's had so much thought, and truth be told, freedom from its resistance and from his own ego. Capes to him were a symbol of royalty. Wizards wear them all the time. It used to keep him warm sometimes when he was without his recupracoon and it just felt like a part of him.

But now he feels it should only stay as a memory. A memory of how not to be. A constant reminder that he used to be such a naive wriggler who was so astoundingly ridiculous and pompous with his attitude...

The scarf however was staying. It was his favorite fucking scarf. He picks that thing up and wraps that motherfucker around his neck. Hipster or not, it was warm and made with the best material. Fuck haters, he loved his cod dam scarf.

Eventually night had come and the others had inspected their rooms and bonded with old items or spat at their memories and everyone for some reason just sorta... meet back up in the living area. They're all quiet. What are they supposed to do? The place obviously belonged to them, for now at least. Were they allowed to sleep? To stay? For real? None of them knew where they were still and everything was so confusing... But Terezi speaks up.

"W3LL 3V3RYON3, 1 S4Y W3 4LL G3T SOM3 MUCH N33D3D SL33P 4FT3R TOD4Y 4ND 4LL TH3 OTH3R D4YS. W3 H4V3 TO R3ST UP FOR WH4T3V3R TOMORROW BR1NGS. L3T'S 3XPLOR3 THE 4R34 TOMORROW 4ND S33 1F W3 C4N'T F1ND SOM3TH1NG 1NT3R3ST1NG."

"I'm with Terezi!" Nepeta raises her hand lazily and rubs her eye with her torn green coat.

"I'm supuurr sleepy."

"I'll go to sleep too... I'm exhausted." Everyone mumbles an agreement of how fucking tired they are and all head down the hall, each going into their own rooms, lower classes getting in first.

"NIGHT GUYS."

"G00d night every0ne."

"sLEEP GOOD!"

"Night!"

"Rest Up."

"3H."

"Guh."

"M."

"Good night Fef." One by one everyone closes their doors, and Eridan closes his without really letting Feferi answer back. She looks back at his door... and walks over to it.

"...Good night Eridan..." She puts her hand to the door a little and bites at her black lips... then goes to her room and shuts the door.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Feferi. Eridan.** _gam._ **Equius. Vriska. Terezi. Kanaya. Nepeta.**_ sol_. **Tavros. Aradia. Karkat**


	2. Chapter 2: Rain

Last time on NEW GEN: New world

"Good night Fef." One by one everyone closes their doors, and Eridan closes his without really letting Feferi answer back. She looks back at his door... and walks over to it.

"...Good night Eridan..." She puts her hand to the door a little and bites at her black lips... then goes to her room and shuts the door.  
()

The next morning, the sky is exactly the same as when they went to sleep. Unusual, but not unheard of.

The first one up is Aradia. She crawls from her recupracoon and goes to her room's bathroom... which she didn't expect to have in this weird place... Inside is a cleaning unit that she promptly gets in, turning on some hot water. She washes her hair and just thinks. They've landed in this strange new world and now they have to readapt all over again. The Handmaid is gone now. But maybe all that time traveling was training for her... Did Handmaid know she was going to die?...

She turns the water off and gets a towel and dries off. After getting redressed, she exits her room and walks to the kitchen. The room is cold in the morning. But it's a pleasant chill that she feels graze her arms. Then she hears footsteps come down the hall.

"Mornin' Aradia..."

"M0rning Eridan." He walks by her and goes right to the sink, puts his head in, and just turns on the water with a sigh. She watches him for a moment until going up the one step to the kitchens wooden floor and pats his back a little.

"Are y0u alright?"

"I guess I'm as alright as a guy can get for all this."

"I understand... I'm s0rry I had t0 drag y0u int0—"

"Don't be sorry. It wwas gonna happen one wway or another right? I already thought about howw things wwere gonna be. I wwas already awware that people wwere gonna hate me. It wwouldn't be any different from normal anyhoww."

"Eridan... I feel terrible f0r all 0f this..."

"Hey aren't you alivve? I thought you wwere supposed to be happier wwhen you're alivve." He looks over and up at her from the sink after turning off the water. She frowns and looks down a little.

"I..." She stops and thinks while Eridan grabs a towel he brought from his room and puts it over his head.

"Don't wworry about it okay? It's ovver wwith and noww wwe gotta... deal wwith howw life is noww."

"I supp0se s0." She nods and looks up at him.

"Did y0u get taller?" Almost as if it was some big revelation she stares at him confused.

"Huh? Wwell maybe, I dunno. Maybe you just got shorter?"

"Imp0ssible. Y0u really g0t taller."

"Wwell good. Do I look more princely noww?" He makes a silly prince pose and flashes his big shiny teeth. Aradia smiles a little bit.

"N0. Y0u d0 l00k less ridicul0us n0w th0ugh."

"PPPPFFFFF. Jee thanks." He smiles back at her and then goes to the fridge.

Aradia realizes that Eridan of all people just cheered her up... She wonders what everyone else is like now. She feels like she's been gone forever... with all her time traveling with the Handmaid, she's ironically lost track of time. Her own time and her friend's time. She's seen so many versions of them dying, so she's not even sure if she's in the correct time frame... But she's pretty sure she is.

Equius is the next to come out and his hair is still wet from a shower, no shirt and only his shorts.

"O-oh. Good morning you two." Eridan looks behind and squints.

"Mornin' uh... Eq?"

"Oh yeah, your glasses are gone aren't they? How do you suppose you'll replace them?" Eridan folds his arms a little, and things.

"I couldn't tell ya. I guess I'll just havve to deal wwithout them for a wwhile. Wwe gotta figure out wwhat wwe're gonna be doin'. Equius goes up the one step to the kitchen area and goes to the fridge while he thinks.

"We should move on once we heal completely."

"Before that th0ugh we really have t0 investigate the area ar0und us. We c0uld very well be in a 'between w0rld' and then where w0uld we g0?"

"Ah yes, exploring is the first thing we should do... Oh. Aradia."

"Hm?" She glances over at him as Equius closes the fridge door, an apple in his hand again.

"I hope I didn't hurt you yesterday..."

"What? Why?" Aradia thinks... then remembers. Equius was holding her wrists the whole time they were walking. She wasn't...STRONG enough to hold her arms steady without all of them dying... So Equius came to her and helped her... Aradia looks at her wrists a little and around her hands. They're burnt from the energy clashing with her skin, and her wrists have bruises around her bones, but she smiles a little.

"0h. They d0n't hurt at all."

"So I did hurt you." He turns to her and looks at them. The purple and dark red bruises around her wrists are like rings...

"I'm so sorry."

"D0n't be s0rry!" Aradia looks up at him quickly into his blue eyes and it nearly startles the taller troll.

"If y0u hadn't helped me h0ld the water back and m0ve f0rward, then we w0uldn't have g0tten 0ut alive, 0r at all. Y0u were an imp0rtant part 0f 0ur survival... 0kay?" Equius stares down at her and nods a little.

"I will accept that. But I'm still sorry that I hurt you." Aradia sighs and slumps her shoulders.

"It's 0kay."

It takes a while for the others to get up, shower and get redressed, but everyone appears in the kitchen, eating various things. Nut butter and Grubsauce sandwiches, oink beast strips, cluckbeast babies, pancakes, waffles all sorts of breakfast things. After a while it's just quiet. Everyone looks at each other and then at the seats.

"Do we sit in 'em or what? I think mine looks pretty awesome." Vriska goes past everyone, now in her original outfit, jacket, shirt and baggy pants down the one step and walks over to her spider web chair.

"M1N3 W4S PR3TTY COMFORT4BL3." Terezi nods a little, toast in her mouth. Nepeta warily goes to her bear fur chair and pokes at the claws, sniffing at it a little.

"Maybe... maybe it was for the others." Terezi's gaze narrows behind her red pointy glasses.

"TH4T WOULDN'T M4K3 S3NS3 N3P3T4... H4NDM41D WOULDN'T H4V3 L3T 4NY OF TH1S H4PP3N..." She looks down a little and Kanaya looks over at her.

"SH3 WOULDN'T H4V3 L3T 4LL OF THOS3 P3OPL3 D13 4ND SH3 WOULDN'T H4V3 L3T R3DGL4R3 OR TH3 OTH3RS D13..." Terezi's hands turn into fists.

"You aren't the only person who lost someone Terezi, don't 8e so selfish." Terezi's red eyes go wide with anger and she grabs the familiar jacket that Vriska used to wear, and yells in her face.

"HOW /D4R3/ YOU T3LL /M3/ TO STOP B31NG S3LF1SH! YOU OF 4LL P3OPL3 SHOULD B3—"

"h-hEY GUYS COME ON... pLEASE DON'T FIGHT! lET'S JUST...-"

"L3T'S JUST /WH4T/ T4VROS? WH4T?!" Tavros bites his lip a little and looks down... but remembers what he's worked so hard for.

"wE HAVE TO CALM DOWN. gETTING ANGRY AND YELLING ISN'T GOING TO BRING THEM BACK. aND I KNOW YOU KNOW THAT BUT..." Terezi can feel all eyes on her, but she doesn't care for that.

"bUT I JUST WANT TO... TAKE WHAT WE LEANRED FROM ALL OF THEM AND... USE IT TO MOVE ON. oKAY?"

"MOV3 ON... HMPH." She lets go of Vriska's jacket and slumps. Feferi goes up to Terezi and puts a hand on her back very lightly, but the libra quickly walks off back down the hall to her room. Feferi calls after her "At least your ancestor wasn't a life ruining world destroying beach!" She watches Terezi stop for a moment, feeling a little bit bad... she was right... but it didn't stop her from being upset. She walks forward and disappears down the hall, leaving the others in silence...

"Well every0ne, aside fr0m that, we sh0uld really plan 0ur next m0ve... That is if we're all c0mf0rtable...

"TO BE HONEST... I THINK WE SHOULD JUST... FUCKING RELAX FOR A WHILE ARADIA. ALL OF US... WELL, YOU KNOW. EVERYONE IS STILL GOING THROUGH THEIR OWN THINK PANS AND STUFF... TO JUST... THINK." Nepeta goes up to him and hugs him. It was hardly to hug Karkat... but she wanted some sort of correlation between the Disciple and the Signless... Karkat looks at her... and just puts an arm around her shoulders and gives her a squeeze.

"I think wwe should take a breather too Aradia. Wwhat if wwe came up wwith a plan... in a feww days? Wwould that be cool?"

"Y0u ask as if I'm running the 0perati0n. I w0uldn't mind a break either. Luckily f0r me, a break is g0ing 0utside." Aradia turns to the door, going down the single step when Kanaya walks up behind her with a small smile.

"I Will Come With You. I Want To See The Outside As Well." Kanaya was very upset that Dolorosa was gone... but she thought she would take Tavros' advice and try to... move on. It's only been a day... but there was no going back now.

Tavros walks up to them and raises his hand.

"i WANNA COME TOO." The three of them nod and head outside. Tavros notices he doesn't have to adjust his head to get his horns through the door!...

"i'M STILL SORTA WEIRDED OUT BY WHOEVER MADE THIS PLACE FOR US... mY HORNS FIT THROUGH EVERYTHING!"

"That Is Pretty Weird. But That Makes Me Want To Think That It's Someone Who Knows Who We Are And Our Individual Interests And Needs. I Noticed That In My Room I Had Several Yards Of Beautiful Fabric Of Very Fine Material And A Few Extra Standing Mannequins! All Of Which I Needed Before... Everything Happened And Took Everything Away From Us."

"My r00m is exactly as it was bef0re it expl0ded. But that's exactly h0w I want it." They look around and it's just beautiful purple and red sky with stars sparkling in the perfectly unpolluted sky. All three of them look and stare at it with smiles. It's been a very very long time since they've seen their familiar sky... Tavros looks down at the little flowers and crouches down and picks at them.

"wHAT KIND OF FLOWERS ARE THESE ANYWAY? i'VE NEVER SEEN ANY OF THEM WHERE I LIVED." Aradia looks back and down at Tavros and the ground, then bends over with Kanaya.

"Hm. I'm n0t sure. I've never seen them either."

"They're Very Beautiful Either Way. But Look At The Ground. It's Dry As A Bone With What Looks Like No Water At All, Yet They Grow As If They're Being Spoiled With Nutrients And Such."

"Let's dig and see if there's anything interesting under here then."

"Oh Gosh Let's Do It In The Back Of The Hive At Least! We Can't Have A Hole Right In Front Of The Place! It'll Look Out Of Place And Ugly..."

"gIRLS ARE WEIRD..." Tavros raises an eye brow but doesn't protest as he stands up.

"T0 the back then." They all three walk several feet around the hive and to the back where they quickly get back on the ground and start digging. Well, not Kanaya. She really REALLY doesn't want to get dirt under her nails.

"Don't We Have A Shovel Or Something? You're Both Going To Get So Dirty And You're Going To Drag It Into The Hive."

"Kanaya really, d0n't be such a baby. A little dirt w0n't kill y0u. Y0u can just wash up, and y0ur beautiful red skirt will be just fine. Help us 0ut already." Kanaya makes a rather disgusted face as she bends over, making sure not to get her knees on the dirt, but she does start flicking at the dirt. Tavros and Aradia dig rather quickly with their sharp claws and find that it's really just dry dirt for several inches.

"Well this is strange..." Aradia sits up and folds her arms, eyes squinting in thought. Tavros does the same and "hmmms".

"There Aren't Any Roots At All... How Can There Be No Roots?"

"yEAH, HOW CAN THEY GROW NOT ONLY WITHOUT WATER BUT WITHOUT ROOTS? dO YOU THINK THEY'RE DYING AS WE SPEAK?"

"N0 they w0uld have been dead l0ng ag0, 0r at least died 0ver night... But they're still as fresh as they were yesterday."

"Hmmm... Well Clearly They're Some Sort Of Special Flower." Kanaya reaches down and picks at a very beautiful red one, brings it close to her face and smells it...

"They Don't Smell At All..." She pierces a petal with her finger and the flower disintegrates in her hand! Kanaya gasps and lets go of what should have been a small stem, but is now just sand. Aradia and Tavros watch in shock. What the hell? Tavros picks one along with Aradia and rip a petal off, each turning to sand...

"Well what 0n Alternia is this?... They just... When we step 0n them they d0n't crumble 0r anything."

"mAYBE IT'S THE CONTACT WITH SKIN?"

"000h. That's a g00d idea Tavr0s." Aradia stands up and takes off her flats and then steps on the ground one foot at a time. when she moves, she sees that the flowers are indeed dying and disappearing into the ground under her feet.

"H0w is this p0ssible?... Very strange. This is fun!" She smiles at the other two who are still a little concerned.

"It Doesn't Hurt? It's Not Sucking The Life Out Of You Or Something Is It?"

"N0t at all Kanaya. I can't even feel them disappear."

"aW JEEZ. i CAN STAND AND STUFFF NOW BUT I CAN'T RUN AROUND WITH SKIN FEET..."

"It's alright Tavros you can still touch them after all right?"

"oH YEAH, I GUESS I CAN." He nods and puts both hands down on the dirt and the flowers poof around his hands.

"tHAT IS SUPER WEIRD!"

"Indeed!" Kanaya stands up and holds her hands out.

"Ew... This Is Gross... I'm Going To Go Inside And Wash My Hands." She begins to walk away when a loud crack echoes from the sky. Everyone jumps and looks around, then up into the sky. There are very dark thick clouds rolling in and raining over everything in its path.

"Those... Weren't There A While Ago. Were They?"

"N0... uh 0h, l00k h0w fast they're c0ming!" She points and they all stare closely. The clouds are coming at them faster than any cloud THEY'VE ever seen.

"i THINK WE SHOULD GO INSIDE. lOOKS LIKE IT'S GONNA BE A BIG STORM."

"I agree." Aradia and Tavros turn and start to walk back inside when the cloud is already upon them. they think nothing of it. It's just water. ... Water. This place doesn't look like it's had water in years. The loud pitter patter of rain hitting the flower petals and the hard desert ground wash over them and begin to get them wet.

"Ouch!... Ouch!"

"Kanaya what's wr0n—0w!"

"tHE RAIN! iS IT REALLY HARD OR SOMETHING?... ECH!" He scratches his shoulder where a drop got him hard and looks at it. It feels weird! he looks over and finds a hole in his clothing.

"Get inside quickly y0u tw0!" They all run inside and slam the door behind them!

"Ouch Ouch Ouch Ouch Ouch Ouch!" Kanaya shakes her head around and scratches at it in pain. Feferi runs up to them quickly!

"What the heck is going on?!"

"The water! The rain is burning thr0ugh 0ur cl0thes!"

"And Our Hair!"

"aND OUR SKIN!" Feferi looks back at Vriska and Eridan wide eyed.

"Maybe go get in your showers? Go wash it off!" Kanaya doesn't even let Vriska finish her sentence while she jogs to her room. Tavros follows, but Aradia stands there in thought...

"What the hell..."

"What happened out there Aradia?" Feferi talks in a slight panic, trying to get more information.

"We were digging up the gr0und in the back 0f the hive at the kitchen wind0w there, and ... there are n0 r00ts at the bases 0f the fl0wers. And when skin t0uches the fl0wers they turn int0 dust... And then the rain came S0 fast!"

"Is that wwhat that loud crash wwas out there? I thought it wwas you guys havvin' found somethin'!"

"N0! It was the thunder! ... 0uch. This really hurts. I'm g0ing t0 my r00m t0 clean 0ff."

"Go quickly!" Feferi lightly touches Aradia's back and pushes her forward to the hall. Aradia walks and quickly goes to her room. Feferi tries to process what she just heard until she feels her hand stinging.

"Ow!" She looks at her hand and some of the acid got on it!

"Fef, come to the sink!" Eridan takes her arm and leads her up the step and turns on the sink water. She quickly puts her hand in it and washes the acid away. It's taken a couple layers of her skin!

"Oh... oh my gosh. That is horrible! Are we going to be okay Eridan?"

"I think so... this hivve has been here for a wwhile I'm guessin', so if wwe stay in here wwhere that shit can't touch us then wwe should be safe... Wwhoa, wwhat's that?" Eridan points out the window just above the sink and Feferi looks up and out of it. Vriska walks up behind them and looks out too.

"What the fuck?... Is that... a city?"

Off in the distance a dusty haze takes up a little bit of the horizon, but one thing makes them think it's a city. There's a very tall tower piercing the sand and goes high into the sky.

"Howw did wwe nevver see that?" Well Eridan maybe it's because you don't have any glasses and can't see anyway.

"Maybe... the rain. Maybe the rain did something?"

"That wouldn't make any sense, we should have 8een a8le to see it anyway. The rain couldn't have done anything to make the city appear like that."

"Well we haven't seen it before."

"Maybe it was already there yesterday, but we just didn't notice? We just wanted to get the fuck into this place. That's totally it. We just weren't paying attention..."

"Wwhy wwould a hivve be all the wway out here then if there's a city right fuckin' there?"

"Maybe who ever lived here 8efore us were 8anished?"

"Then why would it have OUR rooms and OUR things?" Feferi looks up at Eridan for some sort of answer.

"Maybe the house is... dare I say, magical or some shit?"

"Eridan we know magic doesn't exist."

"I knoww but seriously."

"Well maybe take out the possibility that someone lived here before us. Maybe someone built this place close to the city for us so we could go to it!"

"There's an idea Feferi. That's gotta be it. I wonder if whoever did this is just 8uttering us up or something..."

"Butterin' us up?"

"Yeah, maybe they gave us all our own shit 8ack and gave us these equally weird and cool chairs 8ecause they want something."

"But how would we know it's them?"

"We won't need to know who it is Feferi, 8ecause they'll find us when they need us!"

"Can't wwe just believve that someone wwas maybe just bein' nice?" Vriska looks at Eridan with the most skeptical face ever.

"Eridan. Think a8out what you just said."

"I guess you're right..." Eridan rolls his eyes a little and sighs.

"Well you guys... I guess we'll have to go there sometime and see."

"It'll take us a long time to get to wherever that place is... whatever it is."

"Yeah, and maybe find wwho's the mastermind of all a this..."

All three of them stand there at the window and watch... Vriska decides her vision eight fold could be a good idea right now. She uses this power and zooms in eight times on the city to try and see more...

"Mmmmmmmm... whoa... it's pretty 8ig"

"Huh? What can you see Vriska?" Feferi looks between her and the tiny little puff of smoke that is supposed to be the city. Vriska just stays quiet for a few seconds as she observes more.

"Well... like I said it's pretty 8ig. It's got some really tall towers and buildings... I can't see exactly what any of them even are... 8ut... it kinda looks like some of the cities on Alternia."

"Whoa really? Of what caste? What part of Alternia?"

"Like the higher bloods. Higher than me I think. 8lue indigo and purple may8e?"

"Whoa! That sounds really weird! They wouldn't have all of those castes together would they?..."

"No way. Equius and I had 8asically the same everything since we were neigh8ors. 8ut that's 8ecause we're almost next to each other on the spectrum. We're really close."

"Wwell ladies, wwhile you stare at the city, I'm gonna go try and make myself some glasses. Because not seein' shit reely sucks."

"Eridan why don't you go ask Equius?" Feferi turns to him a little as he walks down the step and heads to the hall. Eridan just groans a little and shakes his head.

"Noooo wway. I'll livve wwithout my glasses for a wwhile longer and make 'em myself."

"Eridan." Vriska turns her head to him with an irritated look.

"At least go ask Kanaya when she's out of the shower. May8e she can help. Don't 8e such a prideful 8008."

"HA! You're one to talk." He just chuckles and shakes his head. But... maybe asking Kanaya wouldn't be a bad Idea... Eridan gets down the hall and stops right at her room...

He knocks.

"Kan. Can I come in?"

"I Suppose So!" She calls from the shower. Eridan realizes how unusual this is... but he goes in and closes the door behind him. Everything is so bright and UGH. But it suits her he supposes. Her shower is going in the bathroom and he makes his way in there.

"Are you alright Kan? The rain bein' all acid and shit?"

"It Really Began To Hurt... I'll Have Some Small Wounds, But They'll Heal Along With The Other Ones... What Do You Need Eridan?"

Eridan goes in the bathroom and sits on the lid of the toilet and just rests his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

"Wwell Vvriska and Fef said I should ask ya to maybe help make some neww glasses for me. Cuz I sure as hell ain't gonna ask Equius. If he and I wwere in a room together there ain't no wway he wwouldn't beat the fuck outta me."

"Well... Why Do You Think That?" A chuckle from Eridan.

"Wwhattaya think Kanaya? All the stuff I did... No one is gonna trust me evver again. HA! And after I wworked so hard wwhen wwe wwere on the escape pod. Evveryone hated me just a little less than usual."

"Eridan..." Kanaya rinses the soap from her hair and her body as she talks.

"It's Strange To Say, But It Was Your Fate. It Was Supposed To Happen. It Had A Purpose. You Heard The Hand Maid Didn't You? She Went To Every Time Line And We'd Never Made It As Far As Other Times. With Your Help, And Dualscar's Help... In A Long Roundabout Way You Helped Us... Eridan Please Don't Be Sad."

"You didn't havve to do all the dirty work..."

"You're Right... But... You Did What You Had To. And I Apologize For All The Trouble You Had To Go Through. You... You Really Came Through For Us."

"Thanks for sayin' so. Not to brag or anythin' but... I dunno."

"You Can Talk To Me."

"I mean... It's so fuckin' sappy. But..." He takes a deep breath and sorta mumbles it under his breath, the "shaaa" of the shower almost drowning it out.

"If it could savve evveryone then I wwas gonna do it. And I did. I kneww I had to go to Gamzee and let myself be killed, so that I could land in the spot Dualscar unknowwingly buried me in and swwim to Kar and the Signless and bring them back wwith Aradia."

"You Sacrificed A Lot For Us, And Regardless Of What The Others Say, I Appreciate What You Did." Eridan smiles, glad that there's a curtain between them.

"Thanks... That makes wwhat I did wworth it... I consider you all, wwell most you my friends."

"Am I Included?" Kanaya smiles a little as she turns off the shower and shakes the water from her hair.

"Wwell yeah... I'm sorry I killed you that one time."

"I'm Far Past That Eridan, And Even I Think You Should Let It Go At This Point. Things Were Different Back Then. We Are Not Those People Anymore." Kanaya reaches out from behind the curtain.

"Darn. Eridan Get Me A Towel Please?"

"Uh, sure." Eridan stands up and blushes a little. He'd completely forgotten that she was naked behind that curtain. But he goes to the closet and takes a couple towels out for her, walks back over and looks away as he places them on Kanaya's outstretched hand. It's the only part of her visible, but it's still embarrassing.

"Thank You." She swipes her hand back inside and wraps up.

"Now, as for your glasses, you and I will make some new ones when I get dressed. So, if you'll excuse me."

"Ah, yeah. I'll wwait outside." The purple blood walks out of the bathroom and out of her room briskly and shuts the door behind him. Weird. Kanaya never really... She wouldn't let him in her room normally or even come near her in the shower! What the fuck. Well... at least he'll get his glasses made.

Down the hall in Equius' room, Nepeta tries to clean some of the robot parts strewn about. She doesn't clean after Equius, but right now she wants to think about something else.

"Equius, is it wrong to be in a good mood?" Equius looks over at her from his desk, tinkering with a robot hand.

"Don't be silly Nepeta."

"I mean... We just watched them all die. Disciple... I really liked her. And I feel... a whole lot of emotions! Then I see the others acting like it never happened... But it did and I feel like they've forgotten them and the memories we had! All of the days we spent with our ancestors who taught us things and... they were US Equius! They were all us... I wouldn't be able to stand watching all of my friends die like that... I could never forget them just like that! So why!... Why isn't it wrong to be in a good mood?... It's wrong!..." She holds the metal parts in her arms and shakes. Equius stares at her sadly from his chair until Nepeta drops the parts and puts her wounded hands to her face and can't stop tears from escaping from her eyes. There's a list of things Equius never wants to see. Nepeta crying is on that list.

The blue blood stands up and goes over to her and does his absolute best to hug her as carefully as possible. It isn't right for one of his place in the spectrum, but that doesn't matter to him. This is his moirail... and right now she needs his support.

"Nepeta... Everyone has their own way of dealing with harsh realities... Maybe they're too shocked to accept it and can only replace their sorrows with a guise of nonchalance... Maybe some of us are still trying to process it... But don't think that anyone has forgotten what's happened. You'll never forget your ancestor will you?"

"No! Of course not!" Nepeta sniffs and turns to face him, still in his arms.

"And I will never forget my ancestor. We'll never forget what they taught us and we'll never forget who they were as a person. And we'll never forget how all of them saved our lives. So please Nepeta, don't be sad thinking that others are in a 'good mood'... Because I can promise you that they're not."

"That just makes me more sad..."

"Well Nepeta not everything makes sense right now. So we just have to wait... But for now, let's try to just..." Equius does his best to think of a way to say this without making it sound bad. But Nepeta just looks down at Equius' chest and says it for him.

"Move on..."

"Yes. We have to. Moving on doesn't mean forgetting." The olive blood stays quiet for a long time... until she hugs her moirail tightly and cries into his chest.

Equius looks down at her and lightly pets her hair. It's been a while since HE'S been the papping moirail... but he's so glad he can pull his weight and do for her what she does for him all the time.

"We're going to get through this. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do Equius. Of COURSE."

"Good." They hug for a long long time and eventually Nepeta doses off in his arms standing up. Equius picks her up and just lets her sleep in his room on a bed while he works on some robots to calm his mind.

What could they possibly be in this new place for? What's the point?... Funny. He was the one just now telling Nepeta they had to move on. Moving on is the point. But...

But...

**Feferi. Eridan.** _gam._ **Equius. Vriska. Terezi. Kanaya. Nepeta.**_ sol_. **Tavros. Aradia. Karkat**


	3. Chapter 3: Mysterious Portal!

LAST TIME ON NEW GEN

()

What could they possibly be in this new place for? What's the point?... Funny. He was the one just now telling Nepeta they had to move on. Moving on is the point. But...

But...

()

Night had approached and the whole hive was silent. Everyone was in their room thinking hard and really reflecting on their adventure...

Karkat sits in his own room looking at his posters and his dorky crab door knob and his romantic books and his hacking magazines... "WOW," he thinks.

"ALL OF THIS WAS A BIG PART OF MY LIFE." His weird squared windows let in the soft light from the clouds and acid rain hitting the glass. He gets up from the edge of his recupracoon and looks out the window. The sand is untouched but the flowers are gone. As if they'd never been there in the first place. it's eerie and he just wishes he knew what was going to happen next.

Would the Signless have known?... No, he would have been just as lost as they are. But he would have been positive about it wouldn't he. He would have said something dumb like "Don't worry, as long as we're all alive and well together everything will be fine! We just have to trust each other and work together!" Jeez that guy.

Karkat looks down at his own hands and can just picture his candy red blood flowing from his veins. Is it a curse to be like this... or is it a legacy? A reminder that he's... special? No, he grew up being a monster, a mutant, an ugly piece of trash who needed to be culled on the spot.

Even though all of that was true, his lusus took him anyway. Karkat had killed the other grubs and survived. But even after all of that he was still a mutant who wasn't allowed to live. Then Crabdad came along and picked him up with his big claws and... he must have seen something about Karkat, because he ran off in secret, Karkat in his weird claw like arms and raised him... He raised a mutant knowing he could be killed for harboring a mutant. Why? Why would he take a risk like that? Why would he take a mutant in the first place?

"WHAT DID HE SEE IN ME THAT MADE HIM RISK HIS LIFE TO RAISE ME FOR SIX SWEEPS?" Karkat bites his lip and clenches his hands together into fists.

"DAMMIT." Why did these other kids accept Karkat even though he had mutant blood? They took a while, but they accepted him! They didn't kill him or anything!

What was Karkat's purpose in life... What could it be that would allow him to live again and again and again, trial after trial?

Signless had to go through the same thing. He was thrown into a pit when the Dolorosa found him and took pity on a grub that didn't even get a chance. She raised him and treated him like a normal troll. He was allowed to live again and again, trial after trial... because he had a purpose in his life. And thanks to his efforts and his sacrifice, Karkat was allowed to be accepted by his friends... Signless saved his life.

"I'D BETTER NOT WASTE IT THEN." Karkat nods to himself and looks around his room. It was time to change from that kid in hiding to a guy who was ready to move on and live the life he was granted.

He moves to the side and rips down a poster, then another and another. He throws them away and then goes for the books that he used to love and throws those away, not even giving them a fond glance of the past.

Karkat leaves his room and goes to Tavros' room which is only a couple doors down and knocks!

Tavros is awakened from his sleep in the sopor, but he climbs out quickly when Karkat knocks again. All he can do is grab a cloth to cover his junk when Karkat opens the door.

"aH! kARKAT WHAT THE—"

"I WANT A COUPLE OF THOSE FIDU SPAN BALLS!"

"wHAT? hOW COME? i MEAN, I DON'T MIND, I-IT'S JUST-"

"I NEED COLOR IN MY ROOM." Tavros looks at him and can see a weird new determination in Karkat's body language and...

"y-YEAH SURE, GO AHEAD AND TAKE A COUPLE. wHAT'S UP?"

"I'M NOT A STUPID FUCKING COWARD ANYMORE, THAT'S WHAT'S UP. "

"kARKAT?..."

"I'M NOT GONNA SIT IN A BORING GREY ROOM ANYMORE."

A smile crosses Tavros' face and he nods.

"i'LL HELP!" The taurus quickly dries off and gets on some pants and a shirt and help Karkat pick out cool colors. They leave Tav's room and go to Karkat's and hang the little balls from the ceiling. Afterwards the two run off to Aradia's room. Her door is open so they just sorta walk in.

"Well excuse y0u, thanks f0r kn0cking."

"SORRY. ARADIA I NEED YOUR HELP!"

"What's the matter?"

"NOTHING. EVERYTHING IS FUCKING AMAZING RIGHT NOW. LOOK, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING COOL I CAN HAVE IN MY ROOM?"

"What?" Aradia raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"S0mething c00l t0 hang in y0ur r00m?..."

"YEAH LIKE MAYBE SOME OLD TREASURE MAPS OR SOMETHING?"

"0h. Yeah I have a c0uple."

"SWEET THANKS!" Aradia watches Karkat and Tavros run out of her room and she just shrugs and searches for something cool.

The boys quickly go to Nepeta's room and knock!

Nepeta stares sadly at her bare feet even after hearing the knock.

But she smells Karkat. She stands up and quickly opens the door.

"NEPETA! CAN YOU PAINT SOME STUFF IN MY ROOM?" Her giant cat eyes go huge at the sudden outburst.

"Karkitty? What's going on?"

"hE DOESN'T LIKE HIS ROOM GREY!" Tavros pipes up happily. Nepeta looks at them both one at a time... and then smiles a little.

"You want ME to paint something in your room?"

"YEAH." Karkat makes a small smile at her and a tiny nod. Nepeta finally breaks out into a big smile and nods quickly.

"I'll go get my stuff!" She runs off and collects her black soot, her grey ash, animals dark red blood, and rushes over to them. The torches that light her room go out as she closes her door with excitement.

"Let's do this!" She jumps up and down happily and runs off to Karkat's room without even waiting for him or Tavros. Tavros follows Nepeta while Karkat goes up to see Eridan at Kanaya's door.

"ERIDAN." The purple blood looks over at Karkat walking quickly towards him... well he's guessing it's Karkat. It's short and the sound of his stubby legged fast walk is a dead give away.

"Kar? Wwhat's up?" Karkat grabs Eridan by his shirt and looks up at him.

"I FORGIVE YOU FISH HEAD."

"Wwhat?..."

"I FORGIVE YOU. FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID. IS KANAYA IN THERE?" Eridan is a little too dumb struck to really answer verbally, but he nods.

"She's gettin' dressed."

"EH? WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN HER ROOM WHEN SHE ISN'T DRESSED?" Karkat's face instantly goes from determined to WTF mode.

"Oh uh, I wwas just askin' if she could help make some new glasses for me and she wwas in the showwer, BUT WWE WWERE TALKING ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CURTAIN, KAR YOU PERVV. I left wwhen she said she wwas gonna get dressed!"

"ARE YOU TWO GOING RED?"

"WWHAT?! NO! Kar you stop that right noww." Eridan gives Karkat a little squinty look until Kanaya comes out all dressed and perfect with mascara and green lipstick on her bottom lip.

"What Is Going On Out Here You Two?"

"KANAYA! CAN I HAVE SOME FABRIC PLEASE?" Karkat lets go of Eridan and faces her. The jade blood looks confused and pulls her eyebrows together to show it.

"What Do You Need It For?"

"MY ROOM."

"Your Room?... Sure, I Suppose." Kanaya goes in her room and gathers up a few things of fabric, when Karkat calls "LEAVE THEM IN MY ROOM PLEASE!" and runs off. She looks back at the door where Eridan is standing really confused.

"What Did He Say To You Eridan?"

"He said he forgavve me."

"Is That So?... Good. He Forgives You. Hm. It Sounds Like Karkat Has Gone Through Things."

"Yeah. I guess so. Wwow that wwas weird."

"It was. Let's go to Karkat's room then and put these up ourselves!" Kanaya comes out with a good load of fabrics. Eridan takes half the heap from her and walks down the hall to his room.

Karkat gets to Terezi's room and knocks! The blind girl sits on the ground with her chalk and just pokes at the ground...

"WH4T 1S 1T?"

"TEREZI IT'S KARKAT."

"COM3 1N 1 GU3SS." The boy comes in and walks to her, kneeling before her.

"TEREZI. WANT MORE STUFF TO DRAW ON?"

"WH4T?"

"YOU CAN DRAW ALL OVER MY ROOM WITH YOUR BRIGHTEST FAVORITE COLORS YOU HAVE!" She lifts her head to "look" at Karkat with a weird look.

"WH4T 1S 3V3N GO1NG ON?"

"I'M TIRED OF MY STUPID ASS GREY ROOM, HIDING MY BLOOD COLOR AND BEING OFF THE SPECTRUM. NOW I WANT MY ROOM TO HAVE EVERY FUCKING COLOR IN THE GOD DAMN WORLD IN IT! AND I WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF IT. YOU SHOULD HURRY, NEPETA'S PROBABLY DRAWING SHIPS ON THE WALL." Karkat smiles at her a little and holds out his hand, knowing she can smell his red blood through his veins. Terezi thinks, staring into the darkness... then smiles a little and takes his hand, standing up.

"TH4NKS K4RK4T."

"FOR WHAT?"

"1 W4S... WOLLOW1NG 1N MY OWN P1TY 1 GU3SS. 1'M ST1LL SO UPS3T 4BOUT 3V3RYTH1NG..."

"AND THAT'S OKAY." Terezi looks up a little in surprise.

"WH4T?"

"IT'S OKAY TO BE SAD AND STUFF. WE'RE ALL SAD. IT SUCKS WHAT HAPPENED. I WASN'T THERE BUT I KNOW YOU MADE A PRETTY GOOD BOND WITH YOUR ANCESTOR. LISTEN, I KNOW SHE ISN'T HERE NOW. LIKE, NOT PHYSICALLY... ALRIGHT I'M GONNA GET REALLY FUCKING DISGUSTINGLY SAPPY HERE OKAY? SHE'S ALWAYS IN YOUR MEMORIES AND IN YOUR BLOOD BISCUIT. SO SHE'S NOT REALLY GONE. BECAUSE YOU'RE HERE. GET IT?" The libra stands there quietly and thinks... She's already tried to think of all of that... but when Karkat says it it just sounds more real to her... and it helps her understand that what she thought isn't stupid...

"Y34H. TH4NKS 4G41N. 1'D B3TT3R G3T TO DR4W1NG." She smiles and turns and grabs her chalk from the ground, then runs out past Karkat!

The shorter troll comes out and watches her run to his room and smiles after her. He's glad that he was able to help out one of his friends... especially an old crush. AH FOCUS. Next up Vriska.

"VRISKA!"

"Karkat? What are you yelling a8out?" Vriska pokes her head out of her already open door before Karkat gets to it.

"CAN YOU DRAW SOMETHING FOR ME?"

"DRAW something for you? Uh... weird request, 8ut sure, what?"

"I WANT YOU TO DRAW ME. UH..."

"Uh what? Spit it out Karkat."

"DON'T LAUGH."

"That won't happen."

"AAHH... I WANT YOU TO DRAW I GUESS... ALL OF US. IN ROLE PLAYING OUTFITS?" Vriska makes a pretty hilarious WTF face and slumps in confusion.

"What the hell? What's going on in that 8rain of yours Karkat?"

"CAN YOU DRAW IT OR NOT? I WANT TO BE A THRESHCUTIONER."

"Oh my god Karkat you're sort of fucking adora8le. Sure I'll draw it for you. What's it for?"

"MY ROOM."

"You strange little guy. I'm hearing a 8unch of commotion, are you doing something to your room?"

"I'M MAKING IT VANTAS FRIENDLY." Another weird look from Vriska.

"Huh. Okay, I guess I won't understand until I get to your room then. See you in a bit then Karkat."

"THANKS VRISKA." He runs off next door to Equius' door and Vriska watches. What's that little weirdo up to anyway?... Vantas friendly?... Whatever.

Equius answers his door and looks down at Karkat.

"Yes?"

"NEPETA'S IN MY ROOM."

"What? Why? Is that all you came to tell me?" Without his black broken glasses to hide his eyes and dark blue circles under them, he's really quite expressive. Not the stoic tall strong guy everyone looks at him as.

"I'M MAKING MY ROOM COLORFUL. I'M TIRED OF BEING THE GREY KID AND I'M OVER BEING SOMEONE WHO HAS TO HIDE ALL THE TIME. YOU HAVE YOUR SPECTRUM THING, BUT YOU HAVEN'T KILLED ME. SO I GUESS... THANKS."

"For not killing you? I couldn't very well have done that when Nepeta was so infatuated with you. However I wouldn't want to kill you now even if I had the chance."

"REALLY?"

"Really. You have earned my trust." Karkat smiles up at him and holds up a fist.

"THANKS. GLAD TO HEAR IT. YOU'RE NOT AS WEIRD AS EVERYTHING ELSE MAKES YOU OUT TO BE EITHER YOU KNOW." Equius looks at Karkat's fist and then him... with a small smile, fist bumping very lightly.

"I never cared what anyone else thought about me. However I appreciate the sentiment. I'll go to Nepeta then."

"LATER!" He runs off and notices something. Sollux's room was back there. But Gamzee's door is missing. It goes straight from Equius' room to Eridan's room with a small gap for where a door could have been for Gamzee's room. Karkat goes to the gap and puts his hand on it looking down at his feet.

"WE'RE GONNA FIND YOU GAMZEE. YOU AND SOLLUX... PLEAST STAY SAFE... BOTH OF YOU. DAMMIT GAMZEE WHAT DID YOU DO... WHERE DID YOU GO... FUCK..." He thinks hard about what Gamzee was saying before... how he felt abandoned and how no one cared about him, even when everyone was there looking for him... When they were all there trying to help... But that wasn't really his fault. Apparently no one had really considered the crazy clown's feelings and treated him like shit enough that the slightest trigger would set him off... Karkat just hopes that Gamzee can keep his head on right and not freak out again or anymore or EVER again...

The last time anyone saw him was when he was fighting the Grand high motherfucker and they disappeared behind a giant wall of water... Did Gamzee beat the highblood or at least escape? There's no way he escaped after what the Condescension did...

No, don't be negative. That clown... has his ways right?... Yeah... He has his ways. Just gotta trust him...

Karkat nods a little to himself and then goes to Feferi's room and knocks.

"Yeeees?" Feferi opens her door and smiles a little as she looks at Karkat.

"Oh hey there, what's up Carpfish?"

"DANGIT FEFERI." Karkat facepalms, but Feferi just laughs a little.

"Sorry! What's up?"

The shorter troll lifts his hand a little and cuts his palm with his other hand's nail, making red blood pearl up. Feferi's eyes go a little wide with shock after Karkat holds his hand out to her.

"Karkat?..."

"YOU AND ME ARE LITERALLY ON THE COMPLETE SIDE OF THE SPECTRUM. BUT EVEN WHEN YOU FOUND OUT WHAT I WAS, YOU DIDN'T THINK TWICE TO ACCEPT ME AND CONTINUE TO BE MY FRIEND. SO I GUESS I JUST... WANT TO THANK YOU FEFERI. FOR STAYING MY FRIEND." Karkat stares at her eye to eye and smiles at her, still holding his hand out. Feferi looks at him with her eyes still wide... but she smiles back at him sweetly and takes her own hand, cutting into the palm with her nail. She takes his hand and shakes it, their blood mingling and dripping down their fingers.

"I didn't think about it at all. You were my friend before and you'll stay my friend. I thought your blood was really cool and pretty, and I still do." She nods at him and he nods back.

"So I've been hearing a lot of noise out here and I was just gonna come check it out. What's going on?"

"OH. I'M FIXING UP MY ROOM. I'M MOVING ON YOU KNOW?"

"Ah that's a good idea! I wanna help!"

"SURE, WHATEVER YOU WANT." They let go of each other's hand and walk down the hall. By the time they get half way down they can hear everyone talking and laughing and discussing where things will go. Feferi stops and listens for a second. Karkat stops and looks back at her.

"FEFERI?" Feferi listens to everyone and smiles...

"Karkat you hear that?"

"UH... I THINK SO?"

"That's the sound of friendship and togetherness. It's really nice... after all that's happened."

"YEAH. IT IS NICE. I FEEL LIKE IT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE SIGNLESS DID NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT... WE COULDN'T REALLY MOVE ON UNLESS THE SIGNLESS CAME. EVERYONE HAD TO GET TOGETHER TO SAVE US AND LET US BE THE ONES TO MOVE ON... AND NOW HERE WE ARE MOVING ON. IT'LL BE HARD, JUST LIKE IT WAS BEFORE... LET ME BE SAPPY FOR A SECOND. I THINK AS LONG AS WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER AND TRUSTING EACH OTHER, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE NEED TO."

"I thought you didn't believe in destiny." Feferi puts her hands behind her back and walks up to his side again. Karkat looks from her to in front of him and folds his arms.

"I DON'T REALLY. YOU HEARD THE HANDMAID, WE NEVER MADE IT THIS FAR IN A PREVIOUS TIME LINE. THAT'S BECAUSE WE ALL WORKED HARD AND SURVIVED AND WE BEAT THE ODDS. AND NOW WE'RE HERE. WE'LL FIND OUT WHOEVER IT IS THAT DID ALL THIS. BECAUSE THEY OBVIOUSLY KNOW WE WERE COMING AND MAYBE EVEN WHERE WE'LL BE GOING. I NOTICED SOMETHING EARLIER TOO SPEAKING OF WHICH." Feferi tilts her head.

"Is that so? What did you notice?"

"EVERYONE HAS A ROOM RIGHT?"

"Uh... well yeah."

"ARE YOU SURE?" Karkat looks up at Feferi who looks down the hall and counts the doors.

"Let's sea. Aradia, you, Tavros, Sollux, Nepeta, Kanaya, Terezi, Vriska, Equius, Er-... Gamzee. There isn't a door at all. There's just a space there!"

"YEAH. BUT HE HAS A CHAIR. WHY WOULD THERE BE A CHAIR BUT NOT A ROOM? SOLLUX ISN'T HERE EITHER BUT HE HAS A ROOM."

"Let's look inside of it."

"SURE." They walk down and get to the door. There's nothing odd about it... Feferi grabs the knob and opens the door and walks inside...

"What... What... IS that?" There isn't anything in the room. It's just walls, no windows, no table or husktop, no books or bees or honey or the double recupracoon. Instead, the center of the room has a black hole with a slight image inside of it.

"WHAT THE FUCK?..." They both take a few steps closer, slowly and calculated.

The black hole has a small suctioning wind to it, but the two of them just remember to be careful. Inside, the picture is of what looks to be the city outside of the kitchen window.

"Hey, that's what's outside... What Vriska saw earlier."

"WHAT? THAT'S OUTSIDE? WHERE?"

"After Aradia Kanaya and Tavros came in, Vriska me and Eridan were looking out the window when we all saw a weird thing on the horizon. Vriska looked in on it and she said it was a city that looked really close to the blue bloods class of housing and buildings."

"WHOA... SO YOU THINK THIS IS IT?"

"It sure looks like what she described... Hey look it's moving!" The image of the city starts to close in. But the two notice it looks as if someone is walking as they come closer to the city.

"WHOA, ARE WE LOOKING THORUGH SOMEONE ELSES EYES?"

"I... I think we are!... Who could it be though?"

"I HAVE NO CLUE..." The person walks into the city and takes a back route behind most of the buildings. After a while of walking, the person goes up some hidden stairs and into a big single room hive. They stop there and look around the place. It's simple with four walls and nothing else. Finally the person walks to the right a little bit to the right wall and touches it. A door cracks open and inside is a smaller room with shelves and provisions... A hideout?

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

"I think... this person is showing us the way. The same person who did all of this! The hive and the rooms and the chairs!"

"BUT WHY THE FUCK DO THEY WANNA HELP US? I DON'T FUCKING UNDERSTAND!"

"I think... we have to follow the route this person took."

"WHY?"

"That place is meant for us!"

"FEFERI WHAT IF IT'S JUST A FLUKE? WHAT IF IT'S SAYING WHERE NOT TO FUCKING GO?"

"They wouldn't have shown us the way to get to it if they didn't want us to go." They think hard about this, still watching the person move around the hive. After a while, the person turns around and goes to the door and leaves, going down the stairs. As they walk, someone on the sidelines calls to him.

"Sir!" The person looks over at the voice quickly and then the image cuts out and replays...

"FEFERI... WHAT SHOULD WE DO?" Karkat looks up at the tyrant pink blooded troll and she stands totally still...

"We should tell the others... Buuuuut we'll tell them later." She smiles down at Karkat whose eyes go wide.

"SHOULDN'T WE TELL THEM NOW?"

"Well we SHOULD, but don't you want to use your new room a little?"

"FEFERI..." Karkat smiles a little at her and nods. They walk backwards out of the room and close the door behind them and quickly goes down to Karkat's room. Nepeta jumps out and tackles Karkat, swinging on his back and covering his eyes with her hands. She swings her legs around Karkat's waist and holds on tightly!

"Close your eyes Karkat!~" Karkat smiles a little more and puts his hands on hers and slowly walks in the door, the soft hand that obviously belonged to Kanaya guiding him in.

"Alright Karkat, Ready To See Your New Room?"

"U-UH.. YEAH."

"Oooooooone~~~" Vriska says from one corner of the room.

"Two," says Equius from the opposite corner.

"THR33!" Terezi says happily! Nepeta lifts her hands from his eyes and jumps off of him and behind.

When Karkat opens his eyes, he sees... the best room EVER. There are colors EVERYWHERE. Kanaya has hung fabrics on the ceiling in the corners, Nepeta, Vriska and Terezi have drawn awesome pictures on the floor and walls, Tavros has hung more fidu spawn balls from the ceiling and tied some around Karkat's desk, Equius and Eridan mostly just stood around and watched, but they're still there with smiles on their face.

"WHOA... GUYS... THIS IS AMAZING. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!" He smiles a lot and his eyes just light up. Everyone smiles back at him and some giggle.

"Do You Like It Karkat?" Kanaya pats Karkat on the shoulder a little with a big green lipped smile. Karkat just nods and looks around in happy shock.

"I LOVE IT."

After several minutes of everyone pointing out what they did and stuff, everyone files out to leave Karkat be in his new colorful room. In the hallway everyone smiles at each other and Nepeta claps her hands excitedly.

"Did you see his face guys? He really liked everything we did!" She jumps up and down and has to cover her mouth to stifle her screams. Vriska folds her arms and shrugs with a small smile.

"Well did you see what it looked like before we got in there? It was 8oring as hell!"

"1T D1DN'T SM3LL L1K3 4NYTH1NG BUT 4SH. BUT NOW 1T SM3LLS L1K3 4...4... 1T SM3LLS FUCK1NG 4W3SOM3!" Terezi cackles claps her hands too.

"It wwas pretty blank. But I guess wwe shouldn'ta expected any less. He's been hidin' his identity for his wwhole life. It's all behind him now though. It should be at least."

"I agree. He came to my door and thanked me for not culling him even after I found out his true color. At first it was only because of Nepeta, but he has grown on me I suppose." Equius folds his arms and then scratches his cheek a little, feeling slightly odd for admitting it. Aradia just pats his shoulder with a smile.

"I am just glad he likes it n0w. He's gr0wn t00 and he finally decided that he trusts us en0ugh. That's what makes me happiest."

Feferi lets out a breath of relief and smiles at everyone. How odd and ironic. The mutant blood that would normally only bring people together in unison to kill him has brought everyone together for a totally different reason. A much better reason. Everyone was sullen and upset not too long ago. And now thanks to Karkat everyone is talking happily. They all still have scrapes and bruises, but they're acting like they used to. It makes Feferi so happy... to see everyone else happy.

Now. About that portal thing... How should she tell them... Maybe in the living room with all the chairs. Not now of course. She wouldn't dare bother everyone when they're all so happy.

()

The day had passed... A week passes... Two weeks pass.

Everyone was finally healed and they were all happy, talking often and eating together.

"I think now is probably a good time to talk about something Karkat and I found a couple weeks ago everyone." Feferi took the small gap of silence to finally bring that thing up... Karkat looks up from his food at her in remembrance. Terezi looks over in Feferi's general direction with a quizzical look on her face.

"YOU GUYS FOUND SOM3TH1NG? L1K3 WH4T?"

"WE WENT INTO SOLLUX'S ROOM BECAUSE WE WERE CURIOUS..."

"Well what did y0u see?" Everyone leans in a little, curious.

"We found a weird portal thing... A portal into the city that's out the window. We watched it play a sort of... it wasn't a movie, but it was..."

"IT WAS LIKE WE WERE WATCHING FROM SOMEON E ELSES EYES. THEY SHOWED US THE WAY IN AND A PLACE WE COULD ALL STAY AND HIDE MAYBE. IT COULD BE A TRAP BUT... I DUNNO I FELT LIKE I COULD TRUST THEM."

"Same here! I've been checking on Sollux's room to make sure the thing is still there and it is. It hasn't moved at all. It's still black and every time I get close... well it just stays black. It doesn't replay or anything. I can't see anything else this person sees."

"Why the hell would we go to the city and HIDE when we can' just stay HERE and be safe?"

"That ain't like you Vvriska. Hidin' awway. I wwoulda thought you wwanted to get into some trouble after so long."

"True, /I/ want to go and see stuff, 8ut I'm not sure a8out everyone else. And it pro8a8ly sounds weird coming from me, since when do I do anything that I don't want to do in favor of the group? Since now. We're all happy here and shit and I don't want to 8e the one to fuck it all up."

"Howw considerate of you."

"Let's go take a look at this thing!" Nepeta stands up on her furry chair on the arm rests and throws her fist into the air!

"I still don't get why you didn't tell us, but NOW IS THE TIME TO CHECK IT OUT!" She jumps on the table very light-footed and then off onto the ground and down the hall. Everyone starts to stand up and follow, when Kanaya speaks up.

"Why DIDN'T You Tell Us? I'm Sure There Was A Good Reason, I'm Simply Curious."

"We were all so happy Kanaya... and no harm was being done! So Karkat and I decided not to say anything until we thought the time was right... Actually it was mostly just me. I didn't want to ruin Karkat's happiness since he'd just gotten his room done, and everyone else was still happy and I didn't want to... disrupt it you know?"

"Ah I Understand. That's Very Generous. It Looks Like Now Is The Time To Check Out This Unusual Find Then."

"It sure is. I just feel really nervous though for some reason."

"Is That So? Do You Have Any Idea Why?"

"That portal gives me the creeps... Why is it in Sollux's room? And why doesn't Gamzee have a room but he has a chair? I don't understand and it's creeping me out."

"I'm sure we'll all understand in time Feferi." Kanaya walks down the hall with Feferi behind everyone else and they come to the room. Everyone is standing inside just staring at it.

"It's not doing anything... Someone throw something at it." Tavros takes a rock from his pocket (it's a cool one he found outside) and throws it in the portal. It gets sucked in... and then THROWN right back out and into Tavros' face.

"oW! tHAT HURT! dUMB THING. wHY DID IT THROW IT BACK AT ME?"

"That's really wwierd... if it's a portal wwhy WWOULD it throw it out? Fef you said you saww someone in the city lead ya somewwhere?"

"Yeah. He walked towards the back of the place and then he walked up some secret stairs and went inside. After he looked around for a little he just kinda left."

"YEAH, AND THEN SOMEONE CALLED OUT TO HIM AND IT CUT OUT."

"Yeah! They called him 'sir!' After that it replayed!"

"IT HASNT' REPLAYED SINCE THEN THOUGH THAT I'VE SEEN." Everyone is quiet and just thinks about this...

Until it starts playing something else.

"Hey lookit! It's doing something!" Nepeta points excitedly at the portal and looks closely with everyone else.

The person is walking through the desert that they're in! They walk into the back of the city and find the secret stairs!

"Hey those are the stairs we told you about!" They go up the stairs and reach out and open the door. Inside is exactly the same plain four walls and to the side is the small room of food. They turn around and leave and someone calls to them again.

"Sir!"

"IT'S REPLAYING WHAT WE SAW FEFERI."

"Yeah it's the same thing."

"WAIT LOOK."

"Sir! We need your help..." The other responds, but no one can hear them...

"Her majesty is back." The guy flinches, presumably being yelled at.

"I'm sorry—we don't have time sir... She has the yellow blood with her." Our first person guy seems surprised and runs past the smaller guy through the city. Feferi's eyes go huge.

"The Condesce has Sollux..."

"JUST HOLD ON FEFERI, WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG AGO THIS WAS."

"What are you talking about, we've only been here for a couple weeks! It couldn't have been that long ago!"

The first person guy runs and jumps on top of some hives and looks towards the center of the city where he sees TV screens turning off, and then flickering back on with the face of Her Royal Condescension. She moves aside though and grabs someone's face and brings them into the shot... It's-

The portal closes and disappears.

"HEY!" Karkat reaches out, but it's already gone...

Suddenly a strange grainy noise fills everyone's ears.

"W-what's that?" Eridan grabs Feferi's arm and pulls her away from part of the hive that falls down! Everyone looks up and... The whole hive is turning to sand!

"SH1T. L3TS G3T OUTT4 H3R3!" Terezi runs out, everyone filing out behind her. They all run into the living room where all the chairs are and they too turn to sand. EVERYTHING slips and slides and wavers and falls into piles and dunes of sand.

They're forced to run outside and watch their hive collapse to the ground...

"We... never should have watched that..." Feferi stares in shock and then looks down.

"Fef it ain't your fault..."

"I THINK THIS WAS PROBABLY BOUND TO HAPPEN..."

"yEAH. i DIDN'T THINK WE'D GET TO STAY FOR SO LONG. mAYBE IT WAS JUST TIME... FOR US TO GO."

"Perhaps... It Looks Like It's Time To Go To The City Then..." Aradia rubs her chin a little in thought of what they just saw...

"If y0u tw0 had seen m0st 0f that a c0uple weeks ag0, then that means it's already happened quite a while ag0..."

"May8e we just gotta get the hell in there and figure it out then..."

"Probably... Nepeta are you ready?"

"I think I don't have a choice! ALL OF THAT MEAT IN THERE IS GOOOONE!" Nepeta throws her arms in the air and then slumps. Equius just chuckles and shakes his head.

"Let's get moving I suppose..."

"IT'S GONNA BE A LONG ASS WALK..."

"wE'VE BEEN THROUGH WORSE."

"TRUE..."

"L3T'S GO 4LR3ADY!" Terezi proceeds to walk the other way.

"Thiiis wway." Eridan grabs her arm and turns her around and walks. The others slowly follow...

"wHAT HAPPENS IF THE ACID RAIN COMES AGAIN?" Tavros looks over at Kanaya and Aradia who just shrug.

"We'll have t0 h0pe it d0esn't c0me back at all..."

"sO... sHOULD WE GO TO THAT HIDE OUT? tHAT WE SAW IN THE PORTAL THING?"

"I THINK SO... I JUST HAVE THIS FEELING THAT WE CAN GO THERE AND BE SAFE."

"I hope you're right Karkat..."

"I THINK I AM FEFERI... I THINK I AM."


	4. Chapter 4: A lItTlE iNfO

LAST TIME IN NEW GENERATION

()

"wHAT HAPPENS IF THE ACID RAIN COMES AGAIN?" Tavros looks over at Kanaya and Aradia who just shrug.

"We'll have t0 h0pe it d0esn't c0me back at all..."

"sO... sHOULD WE GO TO THAT HIDE OUT? tHAT WE SAW IN THE PORTAL THING?"

"I THINK SO... I JUST HAVE THIS FEELING THAT WE CAN GO THERE AND BE SAFE."

"I hope you're right Karkat..."

"I THINK I AM FEFERI... I THINK I AM."

()

The group of trolls walk and walk and walk for hours upon hours. Eventually they decide they ALL need to take a break and sit down on the hard desert sand.

"Are you alright Nepeta?" Equius sits down and crosses his legs and looks over at his little meowrail. Nepeta flops to her knees and then leans on Equius' shoulder tiredly.

"Yeah I'm okay. It's such a long waaaaalk! Does anyone know if we're... even KINDA close?" Everyone is quiet and estimates the time needed...

"uH... i'D SAY IT'LL TAKE A DAY OR TWO HONESTLY..."

"Whaaaat? A day or two?!" Nepeta groans and pushes at Tavros a little.

"Come on at least make it SOUND less awful!"

"w-WELL NEPETA I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU! tWO DAYS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IT'LL TAKE THOUGH, DON'T YOU GUYS THINK?" Vriska sighs a little and scratches her head. She looks over at the city and uses her vision eight fold...

"You know... If I'm gonna guess... I'd say a8out the same time too. 8ut it won't 8e THAT 8ad Nepeta. 8esides, you have Equius to carry you around, why don't you use him to your advantage?"

"What?! That'd be mean Vriska! I have to work hard and fend for myself just like I did before anyway! Even if I lost a leg I wouldn't make him carry me!"

"Nepeta you would not have a say in such a matter. I WOULD carry you and that's final."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Nepeta."

"UGH." Karkat facepalms and then runs his hands through his fingers.

"AND HAS NO ONE ELSE HONESTLY NOT NOTICED THAT THIS DESERT ISN'T BLISTERING FUCKIN' HOT? ALL OF US HAVE OUR SKIN IN TACT AND IT'S NOT MELTING OFF LIKE CANDLE WAX LIKE THAT ONE MOVIE."

"Y34H 1T'S PR3TTY T4M3 OUT H3R3. 1'V3 B33N WOND3R1NG, DO3S 4NYON3 TH1NK M4YB3 TH1S PL4C3 DO3SN'T 3V3N 3X1ST?"

"Doesn't Exist?... Explain." Kanaya is sitting on her knees, much to her dismay after fixing her damn skirt... but she's too tired to care really.

"W3LL... TH4T H1V3 W4S JUST SORT4... TH3R3. 4ND 4LL OF OUR RESP1T3BLOCKS W3R3 TH3R3 W1TH 3V3RYTH1NG W3 KN3W FROM 4LL TH4T T1M3 4GO... 4ND TH3N SUDD3NLY 1T 4LL JUST TURNS 1NTO S4ND 4ND D1S4P34RS. 1T'S GON3. SO D1D 1T 3V3N EX1ST? TH1S D3S3RT'S PL4NTS TURN TO S4ND UPON CONT4CT 4ND 1T'S NOT 3V3N HOT."

"Well... I was thinking perhaps it was magic."

"Actually Feferi, magic d0es seem rather plausible c0nsidering everything we've seen s0 far. The acid rain th0ugh is still a mystery. I d0n't get it. The air must be truly terrible if it can't even pr0duce real water." Aradia makes small circles in the cracked ground in thought. Eridan doesn't even say anything. He just wants to sit down... or swim. Yeah, swimming would be so fucking great right now... A desert ain't a place for a couple of fish to be walkin' around in.

"You holdin' up okay Fef?"

"Oh I'm just fine Eridan. What about you, are you okay?"

"I'm okay I guess..."

"Is there... something wrong?"

"No nothin's wwrong. I guess I'm still tryin' ta figure out exactly wwhat's goin on here wwith that portal stuff, and... the fact that it wwas in Sol's room. Wwhy his room? And wwhere the fuck wwas Gam's room? There wwasn't even a door."

"Yeah, Karkat and I noticed that too! And then we thought why would he have a chair and not a room?"

"It's all pretty wwierd... And I hate not knowwin' shit."

"Oh I know you do. But maybe when we -..." Feferi makes a strange face as she spots something on the ground. Eridan doesn't ask, only looks at what she could be looking at. It's a purple circle... that's making a line in the sand. It's almost like it's not there at all. It's not making dents or breaks in the sand... it's almost like it's just on top of it.

"Wwhat the hell?"

"OH MY GOD..." Karkat stands up and goes over to it... and looks into the sky. A purple smiley face is floating in the air.

"GAMZEE! GUYS IT'S GOTTA BE HIM! IT'S THAT STUPID FACE HE ALWAYS MAKES!" Everyone looks into the sky and sees the purple happy clown face above them.

"Wait! Does that mean he's okay?!" Nepeta stands up and runs next to Karkat quickly.

"HE'S GOTTA BE."

"Look! The Line Is Moving!" Kanaya stands up quickly with the others and points at the purple line moving towards the city.

"IT'S GOTTA BE GAMZEE! LET'S GO GUYS!" Karkat wastes no time running and following the line as it starts to go faster. Everyone follows him and the line as quickly as possible.

"WE'RE LISTENING GAMZEE! I DUNNO WHERE YOU ARE YOU BIG DUMMY BUT WE'RE COMING!" The line persists forward for several minutes until a bush pops up from the ground and the words "HiDe" Are written in front of it. Other bushes pop up and everyone spreads out behind each bush. Karkat looks up at the sky, but the face is gone along with the line on the ground.

"HE'D GONE?... GAMZEE WHY ARE WE FUCKING HIDING?..." Little purple writing appears before Karkat.

"StAy QuIeT bRo." Karkat's eyes go wide and he covers his mouth and looks out from the bush. On the other side is a line of lowbloods being lead inside the front gates of the city. They're being lead by a subjuggulator... something the group was hoping to never have to see. The young subjuggulator yanks the lowbloods inside one by one and hands them off to a blue blood of Equius' caste. Everyone gets a good look at each troll when one strikes everyone's interest.

"Is that... Sollux?" Eridan points him out to Feferi...

It sorta looks like him... but he looks almost too old to be him.

"N-no that can't be him, he's older than Sollux..."

"Only Sol has those kinda horns though Fef..."

"No I won't believe it..." The purple writing appears in front of them again.

"AlL tHeM bRoS bElOnG tO hEr HiGh BiTcH. AnD tHat Is Sol BrO tHeRe... YaLl HaVe BeEn AbSeNt FoR a WhIlE..."

"Wwhat?... Abset for a while? YOU'RE the one that's been absent you damn clowwn."

"I'lL eXpLaIn LaTeR. JuSt KeEp QuIeT."

The writing goes away and everyone goes into the city and disappear... After a while the bushes disappear as well and the trolls come together.

"Guys! Gamzee wrote that that was Sollux!" Feferi's eyes are huge and she holding her hands tightly to her chest.

"YEAH... BUT HE WAS OLDER."

"Gam said he's explain later... I say wweget to the back quick and get inside."

"Hey w8 a second! It was supposed to take a couple extra days to get here!" They all look at each other and then the city which is now right before them.

"h-hOW DID WE GET... hOW DID WE GET ALL THE WAY OVER HERE SO FAST?" Tavros looks very confused along with everyone else.

"G4MZ33 1 B3T. 1 DON'T KNOW HOW BUT 1 B3T 4NYTH1NG 1T W4S H1M."

"It must have been. He'd also said we had be the ones absent for a while."

"Equius is right! Did anyone else get that?" Nepeta looks at Kanaya for a response. But Kanaya just stays quiet...

"Let's Not Stay Out In The Open Like This. L- There's The Line Again Everyone." Kanaya points to the line that's formed several feet away from them, and leads them right to the back where the portal thing showed them. Everyone chases it and then it disappears again!...

"I THINK ... OH YEAH THE STAIRCASE SHOULD BE ... AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE..." Karkat takes a peek around a corner and all he sees are highblood trolls... Blues and purples everywhere... Some of the teal bloods are around but they're just drops of them in the vast blue and purple ocean...

"OH MY GOD... LET'S HURRY UP AND GET INSIDE BEFORE WE'RE ALL CULLED."

"This way, I remember!" Feferi leads the group to the side of the wall and they all carefully slip around.

"Oh there it is!" She points and then runs up to it, looking all around her to make sure... She opens the door and ushers everyone inside. Tavros trips.

"I TOLD you to st8y aw8y from those STAIRS TAVROS." Vriska helps him get inside and then Feferi slams the door behind them.

"Phew! We made it!"

"Indeed. And there are several clothes on the wall. Take a look." Equius points to the wall where new clothes are on hangers, clinging to nails that were hammered into the wall. The place is kind of dusty... so it's been a while since anyone has stepped inside.

The floor produces more purple words.

"WeLcOmE hOmE mOtHeRfUcKeRs. :o)"

"GAMZEE WHERE ARE YOU? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST COME OUT AND SHOW YOURSELF OR SOMETHING?"

"ThAt'D bE a BaD mOvE. WeLl MaYbE nOt, BuT iT'd LeAd EvErYoNe RiGhT tO yOuR mOtHeRfUcKiN' hIdEoUt ThAt I wOrKeD aLl HaRd FiNdInG fOr YaLl."

"Wwhat did you mean WWE wwere the ones wwho'vve been absent?"

"Where's Sollux? Was that really him?!"

"WhOa NoW jUsT hOlD oN. aIn'T nO rUsH." The purple words all get erased from the floors and walls like he's starting over... like a new page to write on.

"What do you mean there's NO RUSH!? We just saw Sollux getting pushed into the gates of this place tied up with others! HOW IS THERE NO RUSH!?"

"DoN't Ya TrUsT mE mY fIsHy PrInCeSs?" Feferi is silent... and does her best to keep from stomping on the words...

"Gamzee it's your fault this is even happened!"

"Feferi." Fef looks over at Kanaya who is giving her a rather stern look.

"Gamzee Is Not The Cause." Aradia nods and steps up a little more to the words.

"She's right Feferi. It was fated t0 be n0 matter what that we w0uld end up in this p0sition. Gamzee didn't cause it. Be grateful that he's given us a place t0 stay."

"Speaking of which, Gamzee did you make that place? The one we were staying in before." Vriska adjusts her glasses and waits for her answer.

"I sUrE dId SiS. i HoPe YoU lIkEd It SoMe."

"How did you do that?... How did you know we were coming? Where we'd land?" The purple words disappear and it's quiet for a little while... until again the words appear.

"LiKe I sAiD sIs It'S gOnNa TaKe SoMe TiMe. BuT lOoK. i'Ll SeT uP a DaY wHeRe We CaN mEeT aNd I'lL eXpLaIn EvErYtHiNg. UnTiL tHeN dOn'T lEaVe ThIs PlAcE. iT aIn'T sAfE, yOu DiG?" Everyone looks at each other...

"Gamzee... have sweeps passed?" Equius asks at the floor. The others look at him confused and then at the floor for answers... It takes a while... until the classic Gamzee signature comes up.

":o)"

"Curse you."

"SoRrY bRo. I'lL sEe YaLl LaTeR. sLeEp GoOd AnD dOn'T mAkE a MoThErFuCkIn' SoUnD."

"GAMZEE YOU IDIOT!"

"K4RK4t."

"WHAT?!"

"G3T UP!"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TEREZI?"

"G3T UP 4LR34DY!"

Everything gets dark and swirls. Karkat feels like he's fallen on the ground and he's laying on his back.

"K4RK4T J3SUS YOU SL33P L1K3 4 B4BY TRUMP3T B34ST!"

"WHA... WHAT?" Karkat opens his eyes and looks around... The lot of them are still in the desert... A lot of them are still laying down. Terezi and Equius are the only ones other than him awake.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?"

"It appears we were knocked out somehow. We haven't moved positions since we rested that first time."

"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Quite..."

"1T LOOKS L1KE G4MZ33 TOOK US FROM OUR BODI3S OR SOM3TH1NG AND SHOWED US STUFF IS ALL..."

"Why would he do that though? Why not just let us walk our way down there and actually experience it?"

Karkat thinks hard about why Gamzee would stop them here instead of letting them continue!...

"IT WAS SO REAL... IT WAS REAL..."

"BUT 1T W4SN'T..."

"How did he do that?... And I still don't know what he meant by ... absent. We've been absent..."

"WELL," Karkat sits up and scratches his head that now had a pain that felt like a small lump on his head from the apparent fall. "HE ALMOST TOLD US STRAIGHT UP THAT WE WERE GONE FOR A FEW SWEEPS."

"That's what I thought... It wouldn't make sense though..."

"It w0uld actually." Aradia sits up and looks over at them.

"The Handmaid made the p0rtal that we went thr0ugh. She c0uld have placed it and had it take us t0 a time in the future. I'm n0t sure h0w far int0 the future th0ugh..."

"GOD DANGIT... CAN'T ANYTHING NOT INVOLVE FUCKING TIME TRAVLE FOR TEN GOD DANG MINUTES?! WHY CAN'T WE JUST CATCH A BREAK FOR A COUPLE SWEEPS AT LEAST?!"

"We did... Alth0ugh we were a little late t0 enj0y it." Karkat hits the ground with his fists and Terezi just sits down and rests her head on her hand which rests on her knee.

"1 S33 NO PO1NT 1N B31NG 4NGRY 4BOUT 1T K4RKL3S."

"I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU CALL ME THAT AGAIN I'LL PUNCH YOUR TEETH OUT."

"OOOOH RUD3.~ 4NYW4Y 1 R3ST MY C4S3. W3 C4N ONLY G3T ON W1TH 1T."

"IT'S HARD TO TRY AND GET ON WITH ANYTHING WHEN THERE IS A FUCKING JUGGALO CLOWN MESSING WITH US LIKE THIS TEREZI."

"W3'V3 H4D WORS3 PROBL3MS DON'T YOU TH1NK? WORS3 TH4N TH1S 34S1LY."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE THIS SUCK ANY LESS."

"1 GU3SS YOU H4V3 4 PO1NT TH3R3." Terezi sighs...

"W3LL YOU KNOW, M4YB3 W3 4LL R34LLY W3R3 TH3R3 H1D1NG 1N TH3 BUSH3S. M4YB3 W3 W3R3 1N TH4T H1V3 LOOK1NG 4T G4MZ33 WR1T3 4W4Y ON TH3 FLOOR 4ND W4LLS, 4ND M4YB3 H3 JUST T3L3PORT3D US OR SOM3TH1NG B4CK TO OUR OR1G1N4L SPOT?"

"Why would he do that? If we were already there and ready to settle in for a while why would he send us back?"

"He seemed t0 be having tr0uble with his area. Maybe s0me0ne was watching him 0r... maybe s0mething happened that f0rced his hand."

"Blast... so perhaps that's why we showed up to the gates so fast. Gamzee teleporting us or something of that nature."

"Unlikely... but n0t imp0ssible... I say unlikely because Gamzee has yet t0 sh0w us any s0rt 0f p0wer, even when we were playing the game."

"WAIT A SECOND, WHEN WE SAW HIM LAST HE WAS FIGHTING THE GRAND HIGHFUCKER. WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED TO HIM?"

"In all likelyh00d, Gamzee 0verp0wered the large man and killed him."

"IN ALL LIKELYHOOD? I DON'T WANNA SOUND LIKE A LOAD GAPPER CHUTE BUT GAMZEE GOT THE FUCK BEAT OUT OF HIM BY THAT GUY EVEN WHEN HE WAS FUCKING LOSING HIS MIND FROM THE SOPOR. HIS THINK PAN WAS SO FUCKED UP AND HE WAS SO STRONG BUT HE STILL GOT BEAT UP, AND I GUESS I'M TRYING TO SAY THAT I DOUBT THAT HE'D SUDDELY GET ALL SORTS OF POWERFUL AND JUST FUCKING... WIN LIKE THAT."

"Perhaps the highbl00d lead t0 his 0wn d00m by teaching him his tricks and training him the way he did... He built his own killer."

They're all quiet, still thinking about everything. So they really DO have to walk all that way. Damn.

"WELL I GUESS WE BETTER WAKE EVERYONE UP."

"I'm... I'm awake." Nepeta rolls over and then sits up, rubbing her head. The others slowly start to wake up and all just look at each other...

"Time ta get wwalkin' I guess..." Eridan adjusts his new glasses he got a few days ago and stands up, dusts himself off, then helps up Feferi and Kanaya. The others stand up and brush the desert sand and dust from their clothes and skin and then all look to the city that's still a long ways off...

"We'd better hurry then! If that was Sollux then we have to get there and help him!" Nepeta throws her fist in the air and Feferi nods.

"I dunno what's going on here exactly, but we're going to figure it out!" Off to the side, Vriska is busy thinking hard about what they just witnessed... They'd been absent... someone called Gamzee in the portal SIR... Does he run something in the city? He's a highblood subjuggulator so that's pretty likely... Why was Sollux in that line with everyone else if Condy snatched him up in the first place?... How did Gamzee make that place? And then make it disappear? What the fuck was with those damn chairs? How did he know what the inside of everyone's room looked like? Why not include his own room?

"Vriska, c0me 0n, we're g0ing."

"Huh? Oh yeah sure, coming." Aradia waits for Vriska to catch up to her when she notices Tavros... Tavros is gone?

"Hey! Where did pupa go?"

"WHAT?" Karkat looks around and...

"WHAT THE FUCK, TAVROS? WHERE THE HELL... TAVROS! HEEEEY!" Everyone looks around, becoming more frantic as they go.

"1 DON'T SM3LL H1M 4T 4LL! H3'S TOT4LLY GON3!"

"Howw the fuck did that happen?!"

"Perhaps... Gamzee Took Him During That Dream We Just Had?"

"1'D SUR3 LIK3 1T 1F H3'S JUST S4Y SOM3TH1NG! H1S... 4NT1CS 4R3 R34LLY G3TT1NG ON MY N3RV3S."

"Maybe he couldn't tell us! Maybe that's why he put us to sleep!"

"WAS TAVROS EVEN... WITH US IN THE DREAM?"

"He was, I helped him inside when we were going into that hive, and then I closed the door 8ehind us."

"Perhaps is was then that Tavr0s was taken."

"Do ya think... he's okay? I mean, wwe don't knoww anything about this neww world."

"I think if Gam gam took Tavros with him then he's just fine!" Nepeta nods enthusiastically and puts her hands on her hips.

"Now let's stop talking and get over there already!" She walks faster than the others and then starts to run.

"NEPETA DON'T JUST RUN OFF!"

"It's not like I'll get lost!"

"WERE YOU NOT JUST THERE WHEN GAMZEE KNOCKED US OUT AND SENT US TO DREAMY LALA LAND?! YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL!"

"Heehee! Are you worried about me Karkittyyyy?"

"NEPETA!"

"Ha! Come on then, chase meeeee!"

With a sigh Karkat just runs after her and the others follow.

()

"HAAAAA!" Gamzee swings his club down on the Highblood's head and knock him over!

"Runt! You're DEAD!"

"I'm AlReAdY dEaD mOtHeRfUcKeR. cArE tO tRy AgAiN?" The Highblood gets on one knee and swings sideways at Gamzee, only for him to dodge by jumping straight into the air.

"I taught you well it looks like!"

"NaH, yOu DiDn'T tEaCh Me JaCk ShIt! If YaLl GeT yOuR rEmEmBeR oN, i'M tHe OnE wHo KiCkEd YoUr AsS eVeN bEfOrE wE sHoWeD uP oN tHiS bItCh! AlL /yOu/ DiD wAs FuCk My ShIt Up. AnD nOw I'm GoNnA fUcK uP /yOuR/ sHiT mOtHeRfUcKeR!" Highblood squints and then falls backwards and disappears! Gamzee lands on the ground and looks at where the Highblood fell... A giant black hole...

"Gamzee."

"WhAt?" Gamzee looks behind him... The Handmaid stands there.

"WhAt ArE yOu DoIn' HeRe BiG sIs? AiNt YoU gOtTa HeLp ThE oThErS?"

"Y0u... I still d0n't kn0w what it is ab0ut y0u... but y0u are what y0ur friends need t0 m0ve 0n... The Highbl00d has been transp0rted t0 the w0rld he came fr0m bef0re hitting y0u all at the veil. Y0u must g0 there t00..."

"WhAt? HoW cOmE?"

"I d0n't have time. Y0u will n0t see me again. This w0rld will fl00d any m0ment n0w and y0u have t0 g0."

"FlOoD? tHeN wHy CaN't We JuSt GeT tHe OtHeRs ToO?!"

"I'm glad t0 see y0u w0rried ab0ut y0ur friends, h0wever y0u d0n't have time f0r this either. Y0u must g0 n0w!" A powerful force blasts Gamzee back into the darkness.

"NAH WAIT!" He falls through and disappears, the hole closing...

Gamzee flails through the Darkness and then lands hard on his back... He coughs, dust filling his lungs. But he doesn't lay there long. Gamzee stands up and looks around frightened.

"NO! I gOtTa GeT bAcK tO tHeM! wHaT iF tHeY nEeD mY hElP?! pLeAsE yO, yOu GoTtA dO sOmEtHiN'! dOn'T lEt 'Em DiE!"

All is quiet... no response, no sign...

Gamzee's heart drops... His friends... that he worked so hard to... protect. They're all gonna die in a god damn flood... and he can't even be there to die with them...

"WhErE aRe YoU bItCh?! TaKe Me BaCk!"

His screams don't even echo...

He looks back and around to see if the Highblood had already landed... but he didn't see him either... All he could see was a flat desert wasteland... Dust and cracked sand... not a thing in sight...

Wait...

A city?

"I aIn'T lEtTiN' yOu GeT aWaY yOu GoD dAmN mOtHeRfUcKeR." Gamzee breaks into a total sprint, full of anger and sadness. He's the only one left of his friends, and he's gonna do as much right by them as possible! God dammit!

"I jUsT lEfT tAv LiKe ThAt, AfTeR aLl I fUcKiN' pUt HiM aNd ThE oThErS tHrOuGh, I fUcKiNg LeFt! GoD dAmN i'M sTuPiD! sO sTuPiD! dAmN tHiNk PaN sTiLl NoT wOrKiN' rIgHt!"

Even a highblood can only run so much for so long... Night falls and Gamzee gets so so tired... He's used so much energy and spilled so many emotions that he simply stops and collapses to his knees, the sand blowing in the soft wind that goes by. He breathes hard, trying to get air into his lungs faster so he can continue, but he legs won't let him stand up...

All Gamzee can do is sit there and try to catch his breath...

No! Fuck that!

Gamzee forces himself with all of the will he can muster and makes his fucking legs move. He can't run, but he can at least walk. Walking and walking and walking through this awful hard desert ground...It's freezing ass balls too and he's colder than fuck... But he can't stop just because of that.

Throughout the night Gamzee can only think of different ways he wants to kill the Highblood... Kill him so hard for what he's started... During the night he also realizes he's quite alive now. He can't feel the amazing amount of power he did when he was dead...

Eventually he falls asleep on his side curled up as tight as he can to himself... But he can't sleep for long when nightmares wake him from a dead sleep... The sun is only barely rising and making the sky go red... This place is much more like Alternia than the last world was. The sky stays dark and protects everyone from the harsh sun...

Ah, no time to be thinking of such things. He's got a Highblood motherfucker to kill. Gamzee gets up before it gets hot and starts walking, testing his sleepy body and willing himself to continue... It takes him another entire day of running and walking on and off. It's almost night time again when Gamzee collapses from the heat... It's so hot... Even though the sun can't be seen it makes things so much more humid and unbearable... this is even WORSE than Alternia ever was. Gamzee has never felt such intense humidity before... It makes him want to choke. He lays there and groans in pain from his muscles being forced to work so hard in such heat and just waits for night to fall.

FINALLY finally after a couple hours of absolute heat torture, it cools down and starts to get darker...

Gamzee gets up and continues and continues and continues... until finally the front gates of this damn city appear before him... It sorta makes him happy... but also makes him sick at the same time.

Familiar clown tents surround many places, bright colors and swirls and dots and stripes are everywhere! It reminds him of what he saw on the internet of where his caste of people would usually stay, if they were ever social and civil enough to not destroy each other the moment they laid eyes on one another. But this... he knows what this is... this is The Grand Highblood's city... the place he has control over...

"TiMe To WrEcK sOmE mOtHeRfUcKeRs ShIt Up." Walking through the front gates would prooobably not be the wisest idea. Even for his half sopor depraved think pan he can at least think like a normal person. He scouts the whole area. As much as he can anyway. The whole place is surrounded by a gigantic blue brick wall with arrow spikes on the top of it every couple inches...

Drip.

Drip?

Drip.

"ThE fUcK?" Gamzee wipes his nose a little and looks up. Dark clouds have formed... He didn't even notice. They weren't anywhere near him or even near the city an hour ago when he'd arrived. Drip drip drip.

"Ow! HeY nOw!" Gamzee looks at his arms and sleeves to see them... melting! They're sizzling and burning him! FUCK he's gotta find somewhere to hide FAST. He runs around quickly, acid rain burning him even more. Eventually he spots a small entrance in the side and he runs in. Everyone inside is running around with cloths over their heads and horns, lusi covering their hatchlings and small wrigglers and running inside. It looks like not even the people who live here know when that shit's gonna show up.

"GoTtA gEt InSiDe!" Gamzee looks around and sees a place that looks abandoned! SWEET. He runs up the few stairs and busts right in the door of the old hive, slamming the door shut behind him...

"PhEw! DaMn GoTtA gEt ThIs ShIt OfFa Me." He takes off his shirt and pants and shoes and just leaves his goofy pink red hearted boxers on. The place looks so old... Everything has a thick coat of dust over it. Yuck. Gamzee looks around and knocks on the walls like he's see in some of Karbro's mystery romcom movies. And JESUS FUCK WOULDJYA LOOKIT THAT! A real life hidden compartment! The only things inside of it are old ass moldy cleaning supplies...

"EuCh... WeLp LoOkS lIkE i'Ve GoTtA wAiT oUt ThE sToRm An DeAl WiTh It." The squared windows somehow hold off the acid and it looks like everything outside is okay too. Looks like this place is mostly higher bloods. Some teal bloods maybe... Not a spot of any lowbloods though. They're probably in separate little villages or some shit... Man...This sucks...

Gamzee looks back at the wide empty space... all by himself... Just like it used to be... only now he doesn't have the calming waters to help him sleep... and no husktop to talk to his friends... and now not even friends...

He's totally alone...


	5. Chapter 5: The Grand Highblood

LAST TIME ON NEW GENERATION

()

"I think if Gam gam took Tavros with him then he's just fine!"

()

Gamzee looks back at the wide empty space... all by himself... Just like it used to be... only now he doesn't have the calming waters to help him sleep... and no husktop to talk to his friends... and now not even friends...

He's totally alone...

()()

The next day Gamzee hasn't even slept... His burns kept him awake. There was no comfortable position to sleep in and nothing but the hard dusty floor to sleep on. The sun hides behind the dark sky and he gets dressed in his now super DUPER fucked up acid holy clothes, and he walks outside... There are a few morning people, mostly older trolls enjoying life... others are fighting in the streets, typical, and there are some wrigglers running off to be schoolfed. Boy is he glad he didn't go to get schoolfed. Ruinin' his miracles and shit. Eh oh well. Now he had to find something to fix his messed up acid rained on self. He walks around and looks at all the buildings and all the trolls... It was strange to see so many adults...

As he walks he notices others do well to keep out of his way. It confuses him for a little while... but he just ignores it and finds some place that looks like a hospital. It's small since no one would normally go to a hospital unless they planned on sending someone else there and warning the staff as a joke. He goes to the front desk lady and she looks up at him with wide blue eyes.

"Y-yes sir what can I do for you?"

"Yo YoU gOt AnYtHiNg FoR tHaT wEiRd RaIn ThAt HaPpEnEd LaSt NiGhT? iT bUrNs AnD iT aLl Up AnD fUcKeD uP mY oNlY pAiR oF cLoThEs."

"You... you don't have a teges?"

"ThE hElL iS a TeGeS?" The woman looks at him oddly... but she knows better than to anger a subjuggulator...

"Here I'll go get you one. It's a cloth that shields you from the rain. Are you... not from this city?"

"NaH iT's SoRt Of A lOnG sToRy. I jUsT nEeD sOmE bAnDaIdS oR sOmE sHiT aNd SoMe NeW cLoThEs."

"I'll get you taken care of! This way!" She gets up and opens the side door for him and then leads him towards the back. Everything looks so... clean. It's weird since he's hardly ever been in such a sanitary place... The woman leads him into another room and tells him to sit down and then leaves. Not a minute later the woman comes back with new clothes and some other bandages and ointment and what not.

"Alright first I'll have to fix up your rain wounds. Please remove your clothes." Gamzee squints at her a little and she recoils, waiting to be struck or something.

"HeY sToP dOiN' tHaT. yOu ThInK i'M gOnNa BeAt Ya Up Or SoMe ShIt?"

"You're... not going to?"

"WeLl NaH!" Gamzee carefully takes off his shirt and pants, leaving only his boxers on. And like a dork, his socks and shoes as well.

"I'm... sorry. But I have to remove your make up... to tend to the wounds on your face."

"Aw ShIt. WeLl, If Ya GoTtA, tHeN sUrE."

"What? You..." She seems genuinely confused and baffled by Gamzee...

"W-would you like a wicked elixir sir?"

"FuCk YoU gOt SoMe? I aIn'T hAd A mOtHeRfUcKiN fAyGo In A wHiLe AnD i NeEd SoMe SoMeThInG aWfUl." Again the woman looks confused and runs off. Gamzee is pretty confused himself! The guys here must not be all that nice... Oh yeah. Subjuggulators... He didn't grow up around any and the only contact with another troll of his color was the Grand Highblood. If guys are like that here then there's gonna be some shit...

The lady comes back with a few different flavors and sets them down quickly and then starts wetting a cloth to remove his make-up. Gamzee grabs the purple one faster than he can blink and cracks that thing open, feeling better just hearing the hissing of the carbonation- I MEAN... the miracles. He swings the bottle up and drinks it so fast the woman looks back with slight shock. Gosh he really hasn't had something in a while. She wonders what sort of situation he's been in... but it's none of her business.

"AaAaAaH!" The whole liter is gone already and he lets out a large echoing burp.

"ThAt Is SoMe MiRaCuLoUs ShIt RiGhT tHeRe MoThErFuCkEr."

"I'm glad I was able to help you. Now here, please remove your make up."

"Ah, YeAh, SuRe." Gamzee takes the cloth from the woman and wipes his face totally clean.

"Ow, MoThErFuCk, ThAt HuRtS..."

"I'm sorry. Now let me fix you up. Do you mind if I ask your name?"

"My NaMe Is GaMzEe MaKaRa." The blue blooded troll leans back with surprise.

"Y-You're a Makara? I should have known! Y-your sign!"

"LoOk LaDy, I aIn'T gOnNa LaY nO mOtHeRfUcKiN hEaVy HaNdS oN yOu AlRiGhT? yEaH iT's A hElLa LoNg StOrY. oNe I aIn'T gOt TiMe To TeLl A mOtHeRfUcKeR. lIsTeN, i AiN't FrOm HeRe OkAy? DoEs ThE gRaNd MoThErFuCkEr RuN tHiS bItCh TiTs CiTy Of YoUrS?" Gamzee looks at her the whole time she dabs the rain wounds and tries to talk quietly to her.

"I... I noticed you were wearing the typical Alternian clothes for one... younger than you. Yes the Grand Highblood Makara does own our city..."

"WhAt'S uP wItH tHaT nAsTy RaIn FaLlIn' OuTtA tHoSe SpEeDy ClOuDs?"

" Those have been here for longer than the city's even been around. I'm not sure why they build us in such an awful place..."

"PrObAbLy To KeEp MoThErFuCkErS fRoM lEaViNg ThE cItY... tHeY aIn'T gOnNa SuRvIvE oUtSiDe Of ThE wAlLs FoR vErY lOnG iF tHeY lEaVe. EvEn WiTh ThOsE... wHaT'd YoU cAlL tHeM?

"A Teges."

"YeAh, EvEn WiTh OnE a ThEm ThErE aIn'T nOtHiN' eLsE oUt ThErE. aLl SaNd AnD sHiT."

"Yes that sounds like something he'd do..."

"WhErE's ThE mOtHeRfUcKeR oUt? I gOt Me ScOrE tO sEtTlE wItH tHaT gIaNt AsShOlE."

"Are you... serious? Are you going to try and... overthrow him?"

"LiKe I tOlD yOu. I gOt A sCoRe To SeTtLe." The lady treats all of the wounds she finds on Gamzee and then wraps up some of the worst ones.

"Well..."

"I'lL bE cArEfUl. I wOn'T lOsE."

"Now, here are your new clothes. Your other ones are too damaged to keep and they're also not used around here anymore. I wouldn't want you to stick out too much." She hands him folded clothes and then goes to the door.

"I'll wait until you're dressed." The woman leaves and shuts the door behind her, leaving Gamzee to look at the clothes. On the very top are two forearm protectors, black with purple dots on them, a black hoodie. The hood is purple with purple ribs on the chest and dots that are supposed to look like the spinal cord are down the zipper part, while there are horizontal purple stripes on the arms down the elbow where the sleeve ends. The pockets are lined with purple and have his capricorn sign in the center of it. His pants are almost exactly the same as the ones he came in with, dark grey with slightly lighter grey dots scattered on it. Finally there are boots that look like they could survive a massive walk. Which is nice because Gamzee's been walking, running and fighting in converse shoes that are older than he is he thinks... So this is a pretty awesome change.

After a few minutes of getting these new clothes on, he stretches and moves around in everything and then buckles his boots up their center.

"DaMn ThEsE aRe SoMe SwEeT mOtHeRfUcKiN' tHrEaDs Yo." The lady knocks and peeks in.

"Ah they look good! Do they fit you alright?"

"PeRfEcT aCtUaLlY."

"I'm so glad! Can I ask what you're gonna do now?"

This thought hardly needs time to process for Gamzee, even though he's still recovering from that crazy sopor torture...

"I'm GoNnA cUlL tHaT gRaNd HiGhBlOoD mOtHeRfUcKeR."

"So you were serious... Well... I wish you luck Mr. Makara."

"ThAnKs LaDy. Do YoU kNoW wHeRe I'm SuPpOsEd To BuY fOoD oR wHaTeVeR?"

"You subjuggulators don't pay for anything. You can just take it."

"WeLl... If YoU sAy So. ThAnKs AgAiN. i'Ll Be GoIn'." He gives her a little nod and wave then walks out. Anyone he passes gets the hell out of his way immediately and don't make eye contact with him at all. Some seem even more scared by his new outfit. He doesn't really get it but... maybe he can get things done faster this way.

Gamzee leaves the hospital and looks around at everyone. They continue to avoid eye contact. Oh well. He goes down the street to a vendor who's yelling out low prices and threatening anyone who's a lower blood than him and forcing them to pay for things.

"Ey, StOp ThAt ShIt, LeAvE 'eM aLoNe. If ThEy AiN't WaNt NoNe Of YoUr StUfF tHeN yA aIn'T gOtTa FoRcE 'eM." The man looks at Gamzee walking over at him and stands straight, letting go of the older male trolls wrist. The elderly troll looks over at Gamzee and then looks at his feet.

"Sir I can't make a business unless people buy my merch!"

"WeLl I wOuLdN't CoMe BaCk To YoUr PlAcE iF yOu KePt DoIn' ThAt To Me EvErY tImE i PaSsEd By."

"You don't buy stuff anyway ya damn highblood!" Gamzee isn't at all bothered by this since he basically sorta grew up with his multi colored friends- but someone else doesn't seem to enjoy it much. A giant axe is swung over the old man's head and chops off the vendor's head. THIS surprises Gamzee. He turns around to see who did it, and it's another subjuggulator. This is the first one he's seen other than the highblood! This one has short hair, but it's spiked rather crazily, messy, curly... He has long lanky arms and his outfit covers minimal skin. Skin that shows is painted on and his sign is scared onto his abdomen. The guys face is painted like that of a sad clown.

"Heeey runt. Where the fuck is your paint?" So it looks like runt was a name they call all younger subjuggulators?

"Ah ShIt BrO lOoKs LiKe I fOrGoT tO pUt It BaCk On BeFoRe I lEfT tHaT pLaCe."

"No reeeal subjuggulator FORGETS their motherfuckin' paint no matter what. Get over here you dummy." This giant guy grabs Gamzee's arm and yanks him. The old man runs up and grabs the man's arm!

"No sir! I beg that you forgive him!" The giant subjuggulator doesn't even respond with words, instead swinging his second axe down. Gamzee uses his free arm to summon one of his white spiked clubs and swings up, blocking the axe and nearly overpowering the other man.

"WHAT?"

"LeAvE hIm AlOnE." Gamzee glares hard at the other guy... who only makes a disgusting sharp toothed grin.

"Wanna gooo punk?"

"NaH. jUsT tAkE mE wHeReVeR yAlL wAnNa AnD lEaVe ThE oLd GuY aLoNe."

"You gotta me fuckin' with me! Did you fuckin just tell me what to do runt?"

"YoU aRe MoThErFuCkIn' RiGhT."

"The fuck's your name?"

"GoD dAmN mOtHeRfUcKiN gAmZeE mAkArA." The other troll instantly lets Gamzee go and steps back a few steps.

"No way." He takes a look at Gamzee's sign on his hoodie and his eyes go huge...

"I ain't never seen you around here before! Where'd you come from?"

"MaYbE tHe MeSsIaH's SeNt Me HeRe To TeAcH yOu MoThErFuCkErS a LeSsOn. In FaCt, I aLrEaDy SaW tHe MeSsIaH's. ThEy ToLd Me LoTs Of StUfF bEfOrE i GoT hErE. nOw. WhErE iS tHe BiGgEsT mOtHeRfUcKeR hUh?"

"You want me to take you to the Grand Highblood?..." His eyes now go huge.

"He just got back all pissed off... was that you?"

"ThAt'D bE mE. nOw LiKe I sAiD, tAkE mE tO hIm. I aIn'T sCaReD tO cUlL yOu MoThErFuCkEr." Gamzee points his first spiked white club at the guy and summons his second one to appear more intimidating. This was working out sorta okay so far. The dude's eyes go huge, unsure of what to do. Normally he'd attack this brat and teach him what it means to be a full-fledged subjuggulator, but he's a Makara, and the only other Makara was the Grand Highblood!... This kid fucked him up just good enough to have the others worried. No, worried isn't the right word. ANGRY AS ALL FUCK would be the right way to put it.

"I... No fuckin way! You did all that to the Highblood?!" By now the yelling and words used has caused a small crowd of brave listeners on the street. Others stay in their homes or business and listen through the windows.

"I hAd SoMe HeLp. A lOt Of GrEaT hElP..."

"I ain't lettin' you near him! How god damn DARE YOU attack him! You think a runt like you is gonna over take him huh?! I don't think so!"

"WeLl ThEn YoU'd BeTtEr ThInK hArDeR mOtHeRfUcKeR. i AiN't TrYiN' tO gEt HiS sPoT, i'M oUt To KiLl HiM fOr WhAt He'S dOnE tO mE aNd My FrIeNdS!"

"FRIENDS? A kid like you?! What sorta friends do YOU have?!"

"I sWeAr To ThE mIrThFuL mEsSiAh'S, iF yOu SaY aNyThInG aSkEw AbOuT mY mOtHeRfUcKiN fRiEnDs, I'lL lOp YoUr GoD dAmN hEaD oFf YoUr ShOuLdErS."

"Chya! I'd like to see a kid like you try!" This guy almost instantly regrets this. This kid did damage to the GRAND HIGHBLOOD and this kid... well he can't tell if he's really hurt anywhere... ah wait. He's got some cuts on his faces. Older ones... Hm.

"Hmmm... Heeey runt." He holds out his hand and a tin appears in it.

"Want some sopor?" Gamzee's eyes go wide. Oh no... this guy.

"YoU'rE gOnNa HaVe To ShOvE tHaT dOwN mY tHrOaT!"

"Oh, looks like I'm gonna have to now! Did your fucking lusus give you the right fuckin subjuggulator treatment?" That was it. He's talking about his goat dad now. It's on.

Gamzee dashes at the bigger troll and swings at lightning speed. The other blocks and a cloud of sand puffs up from the ground in a circle around them from the force. He's surprised that this kid has such power. No wonder. NO, NEVER DOUBT THE GRAND HIGHBLOOD.

Gamzee uses his second club to swing up and slice open the other guy pretty good, up from his left leg up to his shoulder. The guy yells and steps back. Gamzee lands and jumps back a little and points the now slightly slightly slightlyyyy lower purple blood at him.

"YOU FUCKING RUNT! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"YoU gOt OnE mOrE cHaNcE mOtHeRfUcKeR. tAkE mE tO tHe GrAnD mOtHeRfUcKeR aNd I wOn'T kIlL yOu." The other guy yells and comes at him quickly. Gamzee takes his chance to swing and cut the bigger trolls legs totally off at the knees. The larger troll falls over next to Gamzee screaming in agony.

"I'lL yOu OnE. mOrE. fUcKiNg. TiMe. WhErE iS hE?"

"I'd never sell out the Grand Highblood to a fucking brat like you!" Gamzee grabs the guy by one of his stump legs, dragging him around town with him screaming in pain. Oddly enough, this felt totally normal for him... He thinks it's maybe his violent blood that makes him okay with this... It's a little disturbing... but he doesn't even think past that. All he can think about is getting the information he wants any way he fucking can. An hour or so later, the screams die down and eventually stop. Gamzee looks back and the troll is dead, bleeding even more from being dragged for so long. Oh yeah and from intense blood loss from the legs.

"Yo. Is AnYoNe ElSe WiLlInG tO tElL mE wHeRe ThE mOtHeRfUcKiNg HiGhBlOoD iS hUh?" Several people point faster than bodies should allow to a tent in the distance.

"ThAnKs." Gamzee drops the guy's leg and puts his clubs away. He's already bloody and he's only been here for a while. He walks past many people, lusi pulling their wrigglers out of his path, elderly stepping aside as fast as they can... Gamzee sees nothing but the path in front of him...

Uuuuuntil his stomach growls and wakes him right out his trance that he didn't quite get that he was in.

"WeLl ShIt. HoW'd I uP aNd GeT oVeR hErE?... fUcK i'M hUnGrY... i FoRgOt To GeT fOoD fRoM tHaT gUy EaRlIeR..."

"Y-you can eat here mister!" A small little girl troll waves at him to the fright of the older trolls inside eating. One adult smacks her.

"If YoU fUcKiNg HiT hEr AgAiN i'Ll KiLl YoU." Gamzee walks up and the man covers his head, accidentally splatting his face in his food. The little girl looks back from the man to Gamzee with wide eyes...

But Gamzee smiles at her and holds his non bloody hand to her.

"SuRe SqUiRt I'lL uP aNd SeE wHaT yOu GuYs HaVe. I'm StArViNg' LiKe A mOtHeRfUcKeR." The little teal blooded girl smiles and leads him inside proudly! A highblood is holding her hand and being nice to her! The adults are rightfully not so trust worthy as they've seen many wrigglers get culled right there by highbloods. But of course Gamzee is too hungry to even fathom such an idea. The little girl walks up to the front counter, lets go of Gamzee's hand, ducks under the counter from the side then steps up on a stool to a register and smiles. At her side is a cup full of colored markers.

"What would you like today mister Highblood sir?"

"Aw, NoNe Of ThAt, CaLl Me GaMzEe."

"Gamzee then!" The little girl smiles super wide her baby fangs protruding a litle. she's got small branch like horns and high pigtails behind each horn, leaving most of her shoulder length black hair down. She wears an overall dress with socks and penny shoes.

Gamzee looks up at what he assumes is the menu... but...

"Uh... I dOn'T uNdErStAnD wHaT aNy Of ThAt StUfF sAyS."

"W-what?... You can't read?"

"NaH i GuEsS i DoN't. WeLl I rEaD sOmEtHiNg ElSe, BuT nOt WhAtEvEr ThAt Is." The girl is now stunned. A subjuggulator who can't read is a little weird.

"U-uh well... what CAN you read?"

"It SoRtA lOoKs LiKe ThIs HeRe, SeE?" Gamzee takes a purple marker of his blood color and writes out some words. The girls black eyes look at it all confused... then excited!

"Cool! You read and write in a difference language! I hardly ever see that! Well then I'll read the menu to you!" She reads out some orders and points to them, describing that as she goes.

"Aw ShIt I sEe. OkAy CoOl!" Gamzee asks for a couple things and the girl writes them down and then runs to the back with the paper. She comes back and ducks under the counter again instead of just lifting the little flap thing and takes his hand, leading him to a table to wait.

"So! Where'd ya come from? You're not from here at all if you don't even read our language! Are those new clothes? They look cool! Ooh, did you cull someone? They were a subjuggulator too! What did they do?!"

"WeLl SlOw DoWn KiDdO. lEt'S sEe... I cAmE fRoM aLtErNiA... bUt I lIvEd By MySeLf So I wAs NeVeR eVeR aRoUnD oThEr TrOlLs. I sOrTa LiKeD iT tHaT wAy. My LuSuS wAs NeVeR aRoUnD sO wHeN hE gAvE mE mY oWn HuSkToP i FiNaLlY gOt To TaLk To SoMe OtHeR mOtHeRfUcKeRs ArOuNd ThE wOrLd. EvErYoNe ElSe UsEd ThE wOrDs AnD lEtTeRs I uSe AnD tHaT's HoW i LeArNeD tO rEaD aNd WrItE tHeM. i HaD tO dO vOiCe ChAtS tO gEt HeLp PrOnOuNcIn' ShIt. AnD yEaH tHeSe ArE sOmE pReTtY sWeEt NeW cLoThEs I gOt At ThE hOsPiTaL pLaCe. My OtHeR cLoThEs GoT fUcKeD uP iN tHe RaIn. I... gUeSs I cUlLeD a MoThErFuCkEr. He TrIeD hUrTiN' aN oLd MaN aNd He WoUlDn'T tElL mE wHeRe ThE gRaNd HiGhBlOoD wAs So I gUeSs I sOrTa..." Gamzee looks down at his bloody hand, still sticky and frowns... The little girl frowns a little too.

"Aw I didn't mean to make you sad Gamzee... I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else! Hmmmm..."

"WeLl MaYbE yOu CaN tElL mE mOrE sTuFf AbOuT tHiS pLaCe HuH?" A small taxed smile slips onto Gamzee's face to try and lighten the mood and the girl smiles and nods.

"Good idea! First of all my name is Levina! I'm three and a half sweeps old and I've lived here my whooole life! The rain is said to be sent by the messiah's as punishment of the past residents of this town! The ancestors of the ones who messed up all live here in this town and we're being blamed for their mistake! Lots of people have died from the rain, but we learned to make a cloth called a teges that protects from the acid! I don't know how, but I'm not complaining! The lowest caste that lives here is my color! Teal! The lowbloods are way too scared to trek the desert and live anywhere near the grand highblood or any other subjuggulators! Which around here is normal. The subjuggulators are really super mean and they kill someone every day. We're only able to repopulate because of the beautiful mother grub! The Highblood has been gone for a long time because one day he used some of the yellow bloods powers to shoot him up into the stars on a super duper big rock with a building on it! It's like they ripped it right from the ground! Maybe they did! But ever since then he's been gone."

"Huh... yeah he came over to the veil outside of alternia to attack me and my friends..."

"I can't believe you lived on Alternia! That place is ancient! Are the stories true? All the adults were banned from there? You were one of the kids left there then?"

"YeP. a FuCk ToN oF uS kIdS wErE lEfT wItHoUt AdUlTs. WhIcH iS aLrIgHt WiTh Me BeCaUsE iT lOoKs LiKe EvErY mOtHeRfUcKeR iS pReTtY sHiTtY aS aN aDuLt... I dId MeEt SoMe PrEtTy AlRiGhT aDuLtS tHoUgH... iT's A lOnG sToRy AnD i'D rAtHeR nOt Go InTo It..."

"That's okay! Oh, here's your food!" Levina gets up quicklynd runs to the counter, where she picks up the tray of food and brings it over to him.

"Is this food anything like what you used to eat-" Gamzee digs into his food like a wild animal, using his hands to rip and his teeth to tear. He had no idea he was this hungry. Levina just sits there across from him and watches with wide eyes, along with everyone else in the place. She sees that this wont' be nearly enough food so she goes in the back and yells at the cooks that they need a couple more trays of stuff, and by golly they pump that stuff out super fast! She and another cook run back with the trays and then only stand there and watch as Gamzee scarfs everything down...

An hour and a half later Gamzee's finished off several more trays of food and he sits there with a full belly.

"EeEeEeEeEeEuUuUuUgGhH.~ DaMn If ThAt WaSn'T tHe BeSt FoOd I eVeR aTe."

"W-Wow you really were hungry huh?"

"BeFoRe ThIs I wAs On An IsLaNd WiThOuT fOoD fOr ... HmMm... I rEmEmBeR a CoUpLe WeEkS wE wErE tRaPpEd On A sHiP aNd ThEn We WeRe On An IsLaNd FoR... a CoUpLe MoRe WeEkS... tHe OnLy ThInG i WaS aBlE tO hAvE wAs A fEw UnCoOkEd SlImE pIeS... tHoSe WeRe SoMe BaD wEeKs LeT mE tElL yA..."

"W-whoa an island? Who was giving you the pies? Was it... was it the Grand highblood?"

"SuRe WaS. hE sAiD hE wAs TrAiNiNg Me To BeAt SoMeOnE eVeN lIkE hIm..."

"Oh gosh... I heard that was a terrible experience!... Well now you're here with a full belly!"

"I aIn'T nEvEr HaD nO fUlL bElLy BeFoRe. ThAnKs A bUnCh LeViNa."

"Of course! Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"I.. hMmM... yEaH i GuEsS i Do."

"Well good! But if you ever want to stay here with me you can! I can teach you how to read and write in Alternian! How do you not know Alternian if you lived there anyhow?"

"I nEvEr GoT sChOoLfEd. I lIvEd AlL bY mY mOtHeRfUcKiN' sElF oN tHe WaTeR. i NeVeR /wAnTeD/ tO gEt ScHoOlFeD. tHoUgHt It'D fUcK uP mY rEaLiTy AnD mY mIrAcLeS."

"Hmmm! You're really interesting Gamzee! I'll take you to where you're staying so you don't get too lost okay?"

"NaH tHaT's OkAy LiTtLe SiS. i DoN't WaNt No MoThErFuCkErS tO hUrT yA. yOu JuSt StAy HeRe AnD kEeP bEiN' aWeSoMe Ya HeAr? I'lL cOmE bAcK tO vIsIt."

"YAY! I'm so glad!" Levina claps her hands and smiles wider than her face should probably allow and jumps down from the booth seat.

"I'll see you later then!"

"I sUrE wIlL sQuIrT. yOu Up AnD wAtCh YoUrSeLf OuT hErE oKaY?" Gamzee stands up holding his belly with one hand and scratches his hip with the other and the girl stands back.

"I will! You be careful too! I can't wait to teach you stuff!" Gamzee nods at her and he walks out as they say their goodbyes. The whispers start and spread faster than a disease, and by the time Gamzee disappears into the shadows and back to the place he came from, nearly the whole city knows about the kind subjuggulator. Well, even though he already culled someone... he saved an old man twice and was nice to a wriggler instead of killing her like the lowblood she is.

Gamzee just lies down on the floor of his new hive and just... goes the fuck to sleep. He'll learn more as he goes...

Several weeks pass with Gamzee walking around, not exactly making friends, but showing everyone he won't hurt them like the other subjuggulators. He goes to see Levina every single day to be all learned up about language and shit. Levina's lusus, a tall deer, watches Gamzee closely every day to make sure nothing happens to his darling Levina... and after nearly a month of daily visits from Gamzee, he's nearly relaxed.

"No no no, see Gamzee this one you pronounce 'kew'"

"Aw ShIt Yo ThAt SoUnDs LiKe ThE lEtTeR q In ThE lAnGuAgE i WrItE iN."

"Well good! So use your own letter Q and remember what this one is. Pretend they're the same thing!"

"I'm GeTtIn' AlL lEaRnEd Up LiL sIs. ThAnKs FoR tAkIn' ThE tImE oUtTa YoUr LiFe To TeAcH mE sHiT."

"Absolutely! You're my favorite person in the whole world Gamzee! You're my best friend!" Gamzee looks up at her even more with slightly wide eyes... Best friend... Levina sees his unusual reaction and raises an eyebrow.

"Are... you okay Gamzee?"

"Y-yEaH i'M fInE. bUt It'S aCtUaLlY tImE i GeT bAcK hOmE."

"Wh-what?" She looks back at a clock and sees it is in fact time he leave.

"Well... okay then. Will you come back tomorrow?"

"Of CoUrSe I wIlL lIl SiS, dOn'T sWeAt It." He gets up and scratches her head a little, then walks out. Levina watches him and bites her black lips a little bit... Did she say something that made him sad?...

Ah she did of course... Best friend... That's what Karkat was to him... Gamzee runs back to the hive and people who see him walk this same path watch him in confusion. It's not like Gamzee to not be wearing a smiling leaving Levina's restaurant...

He runs up the steps and gets inside, then slides down the door and pulls his knees to his chest...

His friends are gone... They're all dead... and after all that he was FUCKING WORTHLESS AND COULDN'T SAVE THEM...

Best friend.

On this night, Gamzee cries hard into his fists, so angry and sad that he's alone in this new place without his friends. Without Tavros. Without Karkat. His purple tears make wet spots on his clothes until he falls asleep right there at the front door, head on his knees.

In the middle of the night, a loud crash shakes nearly the whole city and wakes Gamzee up that second. He looks around in confusion and momentary fright. But he gets up and wobbles over to the window, which is stupid because he can't see anything since the damn hive his hidden. So he runs to the door and out into the street and looks up. The man he's been looking for!

"Gaaaammzeeeee! Where are you URCHIIIINN!?" The Grand Highblood looks even more crazed than usual, his hair spikier and his energy exploding. No one is on the street, but people look from their windows at him and the Grand Highblood worried! Gamzee on the other hand finally runs faster than he ever has down the light dirt streets until he's at the highbloods feet!

"DoWn HeRe MoThErFuCkEr! DeCiDeD tO cOmE oUtTa HiDiNg DiDjYa?!" The enormous highblood looks down at him and doesn't waste any time swinging his hand down at Gamzee. Gamzee jumps quickly and swings his clubs at the hand to stop it from crushing some hives. Everyone starts running out of their hives away from the fight, some screaming in fear.

"G-Gamzee!" Levina is atop her deer lusus looking at him with complete fear.

"GeT oUtTa HeRe!" Before Levina protests, her lusus runs and bounds away quickly.

"GAMZEEEEE!"

The battle quickly gets violent as the Highblood summons his giant black club and swings down at Gamzee. Gamzee thinks about dodging, but that means all these hives would get ruined! So he jumps up again and swings as hard as he can and stops the giant club with his own strength! The force knocks the giant club back at the Highblood a little, giving Gamzee a chance to get up to him! He jumps again and rockets at the Highblood and swings, hitting him down right in the forehead, down into the ground into some tents!

"YOU MOTHERFUCKING BRAT!"

"WhAt'S uP wItH yOuR sUdDeN fUcKeRy? I bEeN lOoKiN' fEr YoU mOtHeRfUcKeR!"

"That just shows how STUPID YOU ARE. You WANT TO DIE ALONG WITH YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS?!"

Gamzee's eyes go HUGE, and then narrow and the color in his eyes explode with absolute FURY.

"YoU aRe GoNnA pAy FoR tHaT yOu SiCk FuCkEr!" Gamzee comes down finally from the air and uses the gravity to swing another blow into the Highbloods head, knocking him completely flat on his ass. But he doesn't stop there. He keeps slamming his clubs into the Highbloods face.

Before he knows it the fight is... the fight's over. He blacked out and now the Highblood's face is completely gone... Gamzee breaths hard and finally puts his clubs back and jumps off the Highbloods chest onto the ground...

All is quiet... People start slowly coming out of hiding and walking over in their bare feet to the sight... Some dare to touch the now dead body of the Grand highblood... and then go over to Gamzee.

The old man from the first day comes up to him bravely.

"Are you alright son?" Gamzee's quiet and doesn't even look up from the ground... But he does drop his clubs, which disappear...

"YeAh. I'm OkAy... I fInAlLy DiD iT tHoUgH mAn. I dId It. I fInAlLy CuLlEd ThAt MoThErFuCkEr... FoR wHaT hE dId. FoR wHaT hE cAuSeD." The old man nods a little and smiles, patting his back.

"Well. You know what this means right?"

"HuH? nO?... wHaT? wHaT's ThIs MeAn BrO?"

"You are the new Grand Highblood." Gamzee's eyes go huge and then notices people coming forward, closer to him...

"You killed the old one and as rules state, the troll of your caste that kills the reigning Highblood takes his place in the seat of power."

"Oh... Uh Oh." The old man laughs and pats his back again.

"It could be difficult. But I think you can do it."

"NaH, wAiT mAn I dOn'T kNoW hOw To RuN nO cItY aNd ShIt. WhY tHe RuLeS gOtTa Be LiKe ThAt?" Gamzee doesn't get another word in before trolls everywhere rush up to him and hug him and kiss his cheeks and cheer for him, throwing their hands in the air!

"WhOa WaIt A dAmN mInUtE!" No one can really hear him with all their screaming, but the old man just looks at him and nods. Gamzee stands there and then nods back, smiling at some people. The celebration hardly lasts very long though.

A huge group of subjuggulators all walk up... It's every subjuggulator in the city... They're all quiet, but the crowds part so fast they kick up dust, leaving Gamzee standing there still in front of the dead body of the elder Makara...

They all stare at him until one very large one comes up to him and looks down. Gamzee looks up at him with a sorta shocked look... B-BUT BUT BUT but he gets into the role of leader and gives him a look.

"AiGhT yOu. OpEn YoUr SoUnD rEcEiVeR hOlEs AnD lIsTeN uP. i FuCkIn OwN yAlL nOw. YoU kNoW wHo I aM nOw YeAh?" The larger subjuggulator stares at him, his almost KISS like make up... and then nods and gets down on one knee, putting both fists to the ground.

"You are the motherfuckin' boss. You're up and closer to the Messiah's than any motherfucker in the god damn universe my brother. We motherfuckers will follow your ass to the depths of hell and will crush all that get in your god damn way. Bow you fuckin' motherfuckers." All the subjuggulators bow the same way, fists to the ground and lower their heads. Gamzee's eyes go fuckin' huge... What was he supposed to do now?...

Oh...

OH.

He feels it... he's FUCKIN' FEELIN' IT. Gamzee's gaze narrows as he looks down at the larger troll. Yes he can look down at him now since he's bowing.

"GoOd. LiStEn To Me GoOd MoThErFuCkErS. lEaVe ThEsE pEoPlE aLoNe, Ya HeAr Me? AiN't No OnE dId NoThIn' To YoU. nOw. TaKe Me To OuR tEnT aNd GeT yOuR iNfOrMiN' oN." The first troll stands up straight, followed by the others.

"Fuck yeah. Thisaway then." He turns around and then goes to lead the way, but waits for Gamzee. Gam turns around to the others, seeing Levina in the front next to the old man. She waves a little... Gamzee smiles super wide at her and waves back, then gets to walking.

After a long long walk, the troll up front, who now appears to be second in command, a "high subjuggulator", gets to the front of the tent and opens it for him. Inside is what a classic circus tent looks like on the inside. This is the biggest tent and none of the other trolls follow in. It's the ring leaders place and ain't no motherfuckers allowed inside.

"Aight my man. What's yo name?"

"GaMzEe MaKaRa."

"Shit, you're even a Makara."

"WhAt WaS tHe OlD gUyS nAmE aNyHoW?"

"Well... to be honest with ya ain't no one really KNOWS his name, even though some trolls have said it was Kurloz."

"KuRlOz HuH?"

"Yep. He wasn't always like that. Which is stupid."

"HuH? lIkE wHaT? i'M sOrTa ExCiTeD tO lEaRn SoMe ShIt."

"You'll learn a lot once you get his skull." Gamzee's eyes go a little wide with surprise...

"HiS... sKuLl?"

"Not to be rude or some shit, but you're kinda dumb. You really have no idea about this Grand Highblood shit do you?"

"NaH mAn. I tHiNk YaLl GoT a LoT tO lEaRn AbOuT mE tOo ThOuGh."

"Hm. Guess so.. Anyway see that over there?" He points over to part of the tent where another skull is. It's a very small skull that's been cracked and painted on, the horns now a faded light brown color in comparison to its once bright orange and yellow colors.

"That is the Highblood before the one you just killed."

"ShIt ThAt AlMoSt LoOkS lIkE a TiNy WrIgGlEr Or SoMe ShIt."

"They were a little younger than you. I never met them since I weren't no subjuggulator yet. But it's tradition to take the skull of the last motherfucker you killed. It used to be that you'd wear their skull along with your paint. But old Makara changed it since of course that little thing wouldn't fit 'is fuckin' head. And you ain't gonna be able to wear his neither, so we're just gonna hang it."

"WhAt Do YoU dO wItH tHe OlD sKuLl ThEn?"

"Well... I heard they crushed them. But I also heard that they keep them somewhere out in space in a rift where aint no one can find 'em."

"HuH."

"Yep. Well motherfucker let me read you the rules."

"I kNoW mOsT oF 'eM."

"You SHOULD. Now listen here. I'm probably the least crazy motherfucker here so just deal with what I gotta say. Most of us are fuckin crazy and we usually keep 'em inside training and keepin' them busy and shit. But there are some ... uh... well, there are some that aren't as crazy okay? We respect each other and ain't none of us kill each other or attack each other ever. Unless the Grand highblood puts up a challenge to fight and beat him. That's the only time. If anyone ever attacked another subjuggulator, you HAVE to kill them, because that means they've up and lost their way and sight of the Mirthful Messiah's ya hear me?"

"U-Uh, YeAh. WhEn I fIrSt GoT hErE, a MoThErFuCkEr Up AnD tRiEd To SlUg Me."

"D'jya kill him?"

"Oh. YeAh I dId."

"Good. Trolls like that aint allowed to be with us. Anyway, we respect each other and we actually are a pretty decent... 'community' if you wanna call it that. Have you undergone your sopor trainin'?"

"Oh ShIt MaN... gRaNd MoThErFuCkEr TrIeD sOrTa... I dUnNo If It ReAlLy WoRkEd. I fUcKiN' hOpE iT dId BeCaUsE... tHaT sHiT sUcKs."

"Well we'll have to test ya and shit and make sure. If you aint up to par then we gotta do it ourselves."

"FuUuUuUcK."

"Lemmie finish dammit. When did you get those clubs?"

"H-hUh? ThEsE?" Gamzee brings them out and the other troll looks at them and squints at them.

"yeah those."

"'Ts A lOnG sToRy BrOtHeR. bUt BaSiCaLlY i DiEd AnD wHeN i CaMe BaCk I hAd ThEsE iNsTeAd Of My NoRmAl OnEs."

"You..."

"I'lL eXpLaIn LaTeR. kEeP gOiN'."

"Yeah sure... When did you get your first pairs then?"

"ShIt I hAd ThEm SiNcE bEfOrE i CaN rEmEmBeR."

"Good. Now. You gotta stay loyal to your fuckin quadrants." Gamzee looks down a little...

"The fuck does that look mean?"

"LiKe I sAiD mOtHeRfUcKeR lOnG sToRy."

"Well shit, that ain't no way to be. Listen. When you do get into some fuckin quadrants you stick to it. If a motherfucker's cheatin', you kill them AND the person they be cheatin' with. Now onward. You better treat the lowbloods like the god damn scum of the universe they are. If you stray from the Mirthful Messiah's then you have forsaken yourself and your caste. We then have the right to gang up on you and kill you."

"Ah YeAh I kNoW tHaT lAsT oNe. BuT lOoK, aBoUt ThE lOwBlOoDs..."

"No bro. Ain't no 'buts' about lowbloods ya hear?"

"No BrO, i GoT sHiT tO sAy AnD gOd DaMn YoU'rE gOnNa LiStEn To Me!" The guy gulps a little and shuts his mouth...

"I hAvE a LoT oF lOwBlOoD fRiEnDs SeE? tHeY aIn'T fUcKiN' sCuM! tHeY'rE nOrMaL aSs TrOlLs AnD-... sOmE oF tHoSe MoThErFuCkErS aRe My BeSt FrIeNdS. aNd FoR yOuR iNfOrMaTiOn I wAs In A fUcKiN' qUaDrAnT wItH a RuStBlOoD aNd AnOtHeR wItH a... WiTh ReD bLoOd!"

"Hm. Well that's..."

"It'S fUcKiN fInE, bEcAuSe I lOvEd AlL tHoSe MoThErFuCkErS!"

"Well man I can't really tell ya no... but I wouldn't go around tellin' everyone that... Your orders are absolute, but your quadrant life is yours and we... aight well look, just don't go blabbin' about it. Lots of subjuggulators are still used to the way the first Makara ran shit, so you're gonna have to get over that." Gamzee grits his teeth a little and the other guy looks at him, thinking... This kid... ain't like the other guys. We'll see how he does.

"Sorry. Well... Want me to leave ya here so you can think and explore and shit? You're gonna have to get used to your new throne in power aight? Speakin' of throne, it's in there. It's a little big for you... But we can fix that."

"No. LeAvE iT hOw It Is. He WaS a... He WaS a BaD mOtHeRfUcKeR... bUt In A wEiRd IrRiTaTiNg KiNdA wAy... I sOrTa ReSpEcT hIm. He WaS bIg AnD eVeRyOnE fEaReD hIm. MoThErFuCkEr RuLeD hIs ShIt AnD hE wAs StRoNg As FuCk... MaYbE iT's BeCaUsE... wE'rE aLmOsT tHe SaMe PeRsOn. BuT... aH i DuNnO..."

"Hm... I'm sorta excited to learn about you Gamzee. You're chill but it looks like you can hold your own obviously. Anyway, we got an old Highblood to chop up. Can't leave him rottin' in the streets huh?"

"I gUeSs NoT... oH yEaH. tElL tHe OtHeRs To FiX tHe FuCkIn HiVeS."

"Say what? We ain't no fuckin-" he turns around to see Gamzee giving him a look...

"I tHoUgHt ThE hIgHbLoOd'S oRdErS wErE fUcKiN lAw." The guy gulps a little... then grits his teeth.

"Yes my high motherfuckin sir." He walks out, leaving Gamzee in the huge tent alone. The tents only this big really because "kurloz" was a giant... But Gamzee sorta likes it. It's hard... respecting someone like Kurloz... He was so evil... But Gamzee can't stop himself from loving that about him. How he was so fucking huge and struck real true fear into his heart many times... Gamzee hopes he can do that someday... Terrify someone like that... to their core. Hehe... Hehehehehehee...

What would his friends think if they saw him cackling like a fool? In this situation... He's the fuckin' ruler now. The head honcho. Big man on campus...

What would they think... Would they be happy for him? Worried? Wouldn't they get in trouble?

Would they be...

Scared?

Wait... isn't that what he just said he wanted?...

He's so confused... He wasn't ready for all of this. Kurloz never told him about any of this. Did he? Shit he can't remember... When he was dead though... he remembers seeing Kurloz screaming and being... sad that Gamzee was dead after Dualscar killed him... He was so sad. "dON'T FOOL YOURSELF INTO THINKING THE HIGHBLOOD CARES ABOUT YOU." That's what he remembers the Summoner telling him after one of his sopor trips... But... Gamzee thinks that maybe he really did care. He was sorta like the lusus that Gam never really had... Kurloz wanted Gamzee to get stronger and he'd even encourage him, in a really off fucked up way...

Killing him was the right choice... right?

"WeLl LiTtLe HiGhBlOoD?"

Gamzee looks up at the small wriggler skull on the only wall inside the tent and walks over to it... The empty sockets stare down at him...

He jumps up and grabs the skull down and then lands on his feet and stares at it.

"I dId ThE rIgHt ThInG dIdN't I?" No response as expected... The head is so small... the horns are down the back and curling forward down the middle looking like a mohawk... The teeth, or rather the ones that are left in the skull, are pretty long and would most definitely stick out over their lip. Gamzee wonders everything about what he looked like. He's just a kid... Who'd he have to kill before? What did the faceoff between this kid and Kurloz look like?... Maybe a schoolfeeding would be good right now...

He takes the skull into the next room only covered by a tent cloth. Inside is the huge throne that Kurloz sat upon... What was he thinking when he came to find Gamzee?

"WhAtTa YoU tHiNk LiTtLe BrO? tHiNk He WeNt BoNkErS? lOsT hIs FuCkIn' ThInK pAn?" Silence of course. Gamzee walks over to the food of the throne and has to jump high to get to the edge of the seat. He pulls himself up and sits down and stares back down at the skull...

"HeRe. WhY dOn'T yOu SiDdOwN. iT wAs YoUr SeAt At OnE pOiNt ToO rIgHt?... NoT eXaCtLy ThIs SeAt BuT... yOu KnOw WhAt I mEaN rIgHt?" Gam sets the skull down further back into the seat and then turns around facing him. Uh... it. He puts his hands together and seems to pray for the small highblood, closing his eyes.

Several minutes pass and then Gamzee lowers his hands and opens his eyes.

"I bEt ThE mEsSiAh'S aRe TaKiN' rEaL gOoD cArE oF yOu HuH?"

"HoW lOnG dId YoU eVeN gEt To Be In ThE sEaT hUh? PrObAbLy NoT fOr ToO lOnG. wAs He As BiG aS hE iS nOw WhEn YoU tWo FoUgHt?" Silence...

"I wOnDeR... hOw LoNg My AsS iS gOnNa LaSt... I dIdN't WaNt ThIs... I dIdN't PlAn FoR tHiS sHiT... cAn'T a MoThErFuCkEr GiVe A bRoThEr SoMe AdViCe HuH?" ...

"AnYtHiNg? MaYbE yOu CoUlD uP aNd TeLl Me ThE bIg SeCrEt On YoUr NaMe? YoU wErEn'T nO mAkArA tOo WeRe Ya? I dOn'T tHiNk So. HoW mAnY sWeEpS wErE yA? wHaT wAs YoUr LuSuS lIkE? yOu DiDn'T gRoW uP hErE dId Ya? NaH... hOw OlD aRe Ya NoW i WoNdEr?... DiD kUrLoZ eVeR tAlK tO yOu LiKe ThIs Or Am I jUsT bEiNg OnE cRaZy MeSsEd Up MoThErFuCkEr?... HaVe YoU eVeR sEeN... tHe MeSsIaH's?" His lusus is dead, his friends are gone and now his mentor is dead and he's the one who did it... Dead trolls tell no tales... So this is okay right? He wants to know more...

"Yo. You talkin' to yourself man?" Gamzee's a little shocked at the voice, but he turns around and sees that guy from before.

"CaN't A mOtHeRfUcKeR gEt HiS pRiVaCy On Yo?"

"Guess. Who ya talkin' to?"

"ThIs GuY." Gamzee shows him the skull and the other guy raises an eyebrow.

"You really are a Makara. Big man used to talk to that one all the time."

"DiD hE eVeR gEt AnY fUcKiN aNsWeRs FrOm HiM?"

"What do you think?" Gamzee frowns a little and faces away from the guy to look down at the skull again.

"DoEs AnYoNe EvEn... KnOw ThIs GuYs NaMe?"

"Not even Kurloz knew his name."

"DiDn'T aNyOnE eVeN kNoW hIs SiGn?"

"Yeah, the sign of Iapetus. That's all any of us younger but higher ups know about him..."

"WeLl I wAnNa FiNd OuT. mAyBe ThIs KiD nEvEr AnSwErEd BeCaUsE kUrLoZ dIdN't GiVe TwO fUcKs..."

"Or... Maybe it's cuz the guy's DEAD."

"If ThE mIrThFuL mOtHeRfUcKeRs GaVe Me ThIs DaMn SeAt Of PoWeR tHeN mAyBe ThEy'Ll LeT mE aNd ThIs KiD tAlK... i WaNt SoMe AdViCe YoU kNoW?"

"I guess I can't stop you... but we just saw a group of suspicious people wandering the city... Want us to capture them?"

"NaH, jUsT lEaVe Em... KeEp An EyE oN tHeM tHoUgH iF yOu ReAlLy ThInK tHeY'rE sUsPiCiOuS..."

"Will do... I'll leave ya alone now." He turns to walk out-

"WaIt."

"Huh?"

"WhAt'S yOuR nAmE?"

"It's Atori."

"GoOd. AtOrI... ThAnKs." Atori smiles a little and nods.

"Welcome sir."

()

TO BE CONTINUED


	6. FUCKIN' SAND AND SHIT

LAST TIME ON NEWGENERATION

()

"If ThE mIrThFuL mOtHeRfUcKeRs GaVe Me ThIs DaMn SeAt Of PoWeR tHeN mAyBe ThEy'Ll LeT mE aNd ThIs KiD tAlK... i WaNt SoMe AdViCe YoU kNoW?"

"I guess I can't stop you... but we just saw a group of suspicious people wandering the city... Want us to capture them?"

"NaH, jUsT lEaVe Em... KeEp An EyE oN tHeM tHoUgH iF yOu ReAlLy ThInK tHeY'rE sUsPiCiOuS..."

"Will do... I'll leave ya alone now." He turns to walk out-

"WaIt."

"Huh?"

"WhAt'S yOuR nAmE?"

"It's Atori."

"GoOd. AtOrI... ThAnKs." Atori smiles a little and nods.

"Welcome sir."

()

The night was a long one and Gamzee was exhausted. He couldn't sleep though... He was still just so confused... or rather he couldn't stop thinking about everything. This all happened so fast... It just sorta fell on his shoulders. He doesn't wanna be the new highblood!... But then again what else is he supposed to do with his life? His friends are gone and he got his revenge... He's got nothing left now... The morning comes and only a little light comes to his tent...

The throne is so big that Gamzee chose there to rest and think for the night... No one comes to bother him, which is a little strange. He was sure Atori or someone else would come to see him. Then again everyone grew up with fucking Kurloz whatever being the big guy around. Come to think of it, he wonders if he'll get as big as him. A lot of trolls of his blood caste are pretty big... He knows that older trolls are bigger from all castes though. Maybe Kurloz used some sorta voodoo magic or something weird like that to make himself bigger... It wouldn't surprise him.

Gam takes a look at the little skull... and sits up scratching his head, takes the skull and jumps down to his feet. He walks to the main part of the tent and hangs the skull back up.

"I'lL cOmE aNd ViSiT yA lAtEr BrO. sEe Ya FoR nOw." Gamzee walks and pushes aside the parts of the tents. He hears groaning and yelling and screaming from another tent. Sounds like every purple blood in the whole city is there. So he goes on over and almost goes inside, when he hears talk about him.

"Who the fuck does this fuckin' punk think he is?!"

"Pisses me right the fuck off! He just comes in, ain't no one ever heard of him or seen him before!"

"Now he's in the fuckin' boss' room!"

"Bullshit!"

"Should we do something?! Any of us could do better than that kid!"

"Yeah!"

"Are you all insane?" Atori's voice! Gamzee leans in and listens more. Some grumble and make small shocked noises.

"You're all fools! He took down the biggest and one of the strongest trolls anyone's ever seen!"

"That don't mean he deserves the position Atori, you motherfuckin traitor!"

"You sit your god damn fuckin' ass down." Some trolls gasp. Apparently it's rare for someone like Atori to curse? Odd, since that's a fucking centerpiece of their culture...

"You guys better rethink your judgment. That boy is a Makara too! He's a direct descendant!"

"No fuckin' way!" Lots of trolls begin to whisper among themselves...

"Whoa come to think of it he does sorta look like boss when he was younger huh?"

"Oh fuck it's been so long I damn near forgot all about him being young at all." Snickers.

"He took down his predecessor and now HE'S the boss, and by the great Mirthful Messiah's you WILL respect him! If you defy him and make him angry he'll rip your throat out for speaking such blasphemy!"

"I say we test him!"

"Test?! What more do you want from him?!"

"Has he even been through fuckin' sopor training yet?! He hasn't gone through the courses either! That motherfucker's gotta prove himself!"

"He is the GRAND HIGHBLOOD! He has nothing to prove to YOU low life motherfuckers!"

Gamzee listens and just can't... understand really. He doesn't even WANT this fucking job... But... his purple blooded pride is starting to boil up... Maybe he should let go... of everything. And just start over... and...

"I'Ll FuCkIn' Do It." He steps inside, pushing the curtains away. Everyone looks over at him, some with glares and some with respectful fear.

"YaLl DoN't ThInK i CaN dO iT hUh? WeLl It LoOkS lIkE i'M gOnNa HaVe To PrOvE yOu WrOnG. aNd TrUsT mE. i /WiLl/ PrOvE yOu AlL wRoNg. I'm GoNnA bE aN eVeN bEtTeR hIgHbLoOd ThAn ThAt OtHeR mOtHeRfUcKeR yOu HeAr Me?" He looks down at everyone and they're all silent... until a few start laughing in the back. Not everyone laughs, but it's quite an uproar.

"Fuck I can't wait to see this shit!" A few get up and go over to him to grab him up.

Gam swings his clubs up, ripping the arms off a couple trolls.

"DoN't FuCkInG tOuCh Me YoU dIsGuStInG mOtHeRfUcKeR." The trolls on the ground look up at him and see that... that... terrifying fury building up in his eyes. The look of a Makara...

"YaLl'D bEtTeR wAtCh YoUr FuCkIn AsSeS aNd YoUr MoUtHs. I'm YoUr GoD dAmN sUpErIoR nOw AnD yOu AiN't GoNnA tReAt Me LiKe A fUcKiN' nEw KiD gOt It? If I hAvE tO kIlL eVeRy SiNgLe OnE oF yOu SoFtSpOnGeD fUcKeRs AnD rEmAkE mY lItTlE cArNiVaL pArTiCiPaNtS, tHeN bY tHe FuCkIn' MeSsIaH's I'lL dO iT. NoW tAkE mE tO tHiS dAmN "tRaInInG" yOu DaRe AsK mE tO tAkE sO i CaN gEt It OvEr WiTh." It's happening...

And everyone knows it. They pissed off a Makara... and for some reason they're all still alive...

So everyone gets up carefully, and Atori pushes everyone out of the way and comes up to Gamzee.

"This way." He smiles a creepy sharp fanged smile at Gamzee, happy that he showed the others their place. Gamzee follows and then the others follow him silently.

()

From the city, some can see the highbloods walking in a group being silent as can be... and they wonder what on Earth is going on...

()

The sun was still coming up and the group of tired trolls were just waking up as they walked through the damn sand all over again.

"Vriska... Are we... almost there?" Nepeta is slumping and looking up at her sadly.

"We should be. I mean, no we can see the damn place, it shouldn't t8ke us very long... to get there." Vriska just keeps facing forward and inwardly screaming at the pain in her legs.

Kanaya stays towards the back to make sure no one gets left behind... but watching everyone be so tired and desperate for shade, water and a decent rest is difficult to witness. She mostly worries about the sea dwellers. They don't look like they're doing too good. Feferi seems to have lost most of her light and gusto... And Eridan looks just flat. Empty even. She can't imagine what it's like at all to live on water and then have to walk in the desert for nearly a week. How they've survived is beyond her comprehension...

"GOD DAMN. WHY DIDN'T WE USE THAT FUCKING PORTAL THING BACK AT THAT HIVE?!"

"1T M1GHT NOT H4V3 3VEN B33N TH4T K1ND4 PORT4L. 1 TH1NK 1T W4S MOR3 OF 4 LOOK1NG GL4SS. YOU S4W HOW TH4T L1TTL3 ROCK C4M3 FLY1NG B4CK 4T T4VROS 4ND H1T H1M. W3 DON'T KNOW WH4T WOULD H4V3 H4PP3N3D 1F ON3 OF US TR13D GO1NG 1N, SOM3TH1NG S1M1L4R WOULD H4V3 H4PP3N3D."

"YOU THINK SO HUH?" Karkat sighs. Equius is towards the front. And without his broken glasses to hide his eyes, he looks exhausted. Even more than normal. Usually Nepeta would jump on his back and make him carry her around, but this time around everyone understands the craziness that they're all going through and... just ugh... Aradia though looks rather unfazed, even though she's actually super tired and sorta wants to scream.

"W8! There!" Vriska points! Everyone looks up to hopefully see what she's pointing at...

"What are y0u l00king at?..."

"What? The fucking city RIGHT THERE!" She points more intensely as if that'll get Aradia to see it better.

"1 C4N'T S33 4NYTH1NG."

"Shut the FUCK up Terezi."

"NO VRISKA, WE DON'T SEE ANYTHING..."

"No w8y! It's there! You guys think I'm lying?"

"n-nO... i THINK MAYBE YOU SEE... A MIRAGE?"

"A fucking WHAT you punk?!"

"A mirage Vriska." Equius stops walking and everyone is happy to do the same.

"You're seeing things."

"No way you—" She looks back and ... doesn't see the gates anymore...

"W...what? No I saw it!"

"I believve ya. I'vve been seein' bats flyin' around for a feww hours noww..."

"Eridan..." Feferi looks at him a little, concerned. He waves her off a little and yawns...

"What are we gonna do Equius?..." Nepeta sits down and breaths hard and just... flops down onto the sand.

"We should rest for a while." Equius flops unceremoniously on his ass and pants.

"Do you think we're gonna die?"

"NO WAY NEPETA. THERE'S NO WAY HAND MAID WOULD SEND US HERE THINKING WE'D DIE. SOME OF US AGAIN. WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT. IT'S GONNA SUCK ON OUR WAY THERE, BUT WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT OKAY?" Karkat rests his hands on his knees and breathes, looking forward.

"K4RK4T'S R1GHT. W3 C4N DO TH1S GUYS."

"We have to find water guys... Fast. Eridan and I might not make it much longer..." Feferi sits next to Eridan and lays down. Kanaya and Aradia look at the two of them together and try to think of something!

"i WISH I COULD FLY... lIKE THE SUMMONER..." Tavros looks down all the way and clenches his hands into fists Vriska looks at him and nods a little.

"Yeah, at least then you could look further ahead. I can't really see my vision 8 fold anymore..." Finally everyone is silent and just sits down and catches their breath.

But the ground starts to shake under them!

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!"

"Hold On Everyone!" Everyone lays down to try and avoid any pain from such a massive earth quake! Dunes start to level out and then right from under all of them, a hole opens up and they all fall through!

"AAAAAHH!" They all flip flippity do bubbub flop flap flump down some dirt and then all come to a stop.

"SOM3ON3 F1LL M3 1N, WH4T TH3 H3LL JUST H4PP3N3D?" Terezi sits up along with Vriska and Aradia.

"Well, it w0uld seem we've fallen int0 s0me s0rt 0f cave.

"Perfect, then you can navigate it right?"

"Well n0t quite Vriska, but I'll d0 my best." Aradia slowly stands up, hands above her head to make sure she didn't hit it or her horns.

"Is there any way we c0uld make s0me lights?" Kanaya stands up and she... well, she flicks on and makes the whole area around them glow.

"Will This Do?"

"Perfect. My ap0l0ies, but c0uld y0u g0 f0rward?"

"I'm Glad To Help." Kanaya nods and walks forward quite a ways, feeling the sides of the cave... It's nice and cold down here so no one else is too keen on getting up to go walking further. The cold ground under them and surrounding them is PERFECT. No sand is falling on them though.

"w-wOW LOOK AT THAT. tHE SAND UP THERE LOOKS LIKE IT'S ... sTUCK?"

"HUH?" Karkat looks up at where Tavros points and sees the sunlight sorta kinda coming through the sand.

"YOU'RE RIGHT, IT SORTA LOOKS LIKE A BARRIER OF SOME KIND HOLDIN UP THE SAND. WELL GOOD! NOW WE WON'T GET BURIED AND DIE LIKE PATHETIC WASTES OF SPACE AND JUST BECOME FERTILIZER FOR ANY OTHER PATHETIC SOULS THAT DARE CROSS THE DRY DICK OF THE LOATHSOME 'GOD' THAT PUT US IN-"

"Oh stop Karkitty." She rolls over on her back and looks up at him a little

"You were the one that said not to give up!"

"I DIDN'T FUCKING SAY I WAS GIVING UP. I JUST CAN'T STAND ALL THIS BULLSHIT. I WANNA GET TO THAT TOWN AND INTO THAT HIDDEN HIVE SO WE CAN NOT WALK IN THE STUPID LEG DEVOURING SAND ANYMORE."

"Well Karkat It Looks Like We're Well On Our Way To Getting There Faster."

"YEAH?"

"Yes Indeed." Everyone slowly gets up on their tired sore legs and walk over behind Kanaya and look forward. The tunnel goes on for a LOOONG ways. Kanaya picks up a rock and throws it hard, further into the tunnel, and as it clicks on the walls and floor, little glowing worms start to glow all over the place!

"Oh. Well Look At That."

"They're soooo purritty!" Nepeta slaps her hands together and jumps up and down a few times, while everyone just admires them silently. Even Terezi who can smell their beautiful blue and pink colors.

"Well this should lead the way right? Alth0ugh I'm c0ncerned. H0w d0 we kn0w this will lead us t0 the city?"

"Where else would it lead us to Aradia? There's nowhere else to go around here! There aren't any other cities or anything! I can practically smell that damn city!" Vriska folds her arms and nods a little, then starts walking, linking her arm with Kanaya's.

"Let's go girlly, let's 8ust into that city and see why juggalo 8utt wants us to go there!"

Equius just rolls his eyes a little and follows.

"Wwell t-this is a vvery nice change of pace..."

"Yeah... I dunno if we could have lived out there for much longer..."

"Wwe were ready to die right then and there... I hope there's wwater somewwhere soon..." Eridan takes Feferi's hand and leads her with the others...

The tunnel gets bigger and bigger as they continue. It begins to turn into a huge cave where more than just worms are hanging from the rocks... Giant bats are all over the place!

"eEEEEW... wHAT IS THAT... tHAT AWFUL SMELL?..." Tavros covers his nose and mouth with both hands and just... UGH. He wants to barf...

"Bat shit probably. Disgustin' animals..." Eridan plugs his nose a little and looks around at all the red eyes looking at them all.

"1S TH3R3 4NY W4Y W3 C4N... 1 DUNNO, G3T TH3 FUCK OUTT4 H3R3 4NY F4ST3R?"

"Well Let's See... Down There. We'll Have To Be Very Quiet Though, So Not To Disturb The Bats..."

"YEAH THAT'LL GO WELL..."

"D0n't be s0 negative Karkat. We can d0 this. C0me 0n every0ne." Aradia jumps down and leads the way, sliding down the rocks. Everyone follows and does their best to be quiet. They walk through rocks that are slippery and sometimes things EEP! when they're stepped on. Nepeta wishes she had her hat to cover her nose with. It's pretty rank down there... BLEGH. They reach the end where the tunnel gets a little smaller and... Eridan trips.

"OOF!"

"uh oh." Vriska looks back at the party with Kanaya and the bats start going crazy, squeaking and screeching and flapping everywhere. Kanaya runs back there and stands in front of Eridan at his feet and SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHES AT THE BATS! It echoes through the WHOLE place and then goes silent. The bats have retreated to their own little bat caves and stay silent. The group looks at Kanaya in awe. Karkat helps Eridan stand up and they back further into the tunnel and wait until Kanaya takes a few steps back and then turns around.

"There We Go. We'll Have To Be More Careful. No More Of That... Come On What Are You All Staring At? Keep Walking Before They Come Back!" Kanaya shoos them all with her hands and then runs back in front. Vriska looks at her and smiles a little.

"W-...wow."

"wOW IS RIGHT! gO KANAYA!" Tavros throws both fists in there air and walks up to her.

"O-Oh, It Was Nothing Really."

"Well now, Kanaya 8eing modest? That's something I haven't seen in a long time."

"Oh Stop It All Of You."

Eridan straightens himself up and dusts himself off.

"Thanks Kan."

"Not A Problem Eridan."

After another hour or so of walking, Vriska slips!

"w-whoa! WHOA!" She wobbles back and forward, flailing her arms in circles until she falls and... slides down?

"W-What On Earth?"

"v-vRISKA!" Tavros looks down... then Kanaya jumps and follows after her!

"w-wAIT FOR ME!" Tavros jumps down and Karkat just sighs. Equius takes Nepeta in his arms and jumps down with her going "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" the whole way down. Aradia, Feferi, Eridan and Karkat slide down too, all screaming along the way! They're going super fast and it seems to go on forever!

Eventually Vriska lands first, on her feet in a totally dark room.

"Uh oh. Shit... Did I get separated?"

"MOVE!" Kanaya shouts and then slams into Vriska knocking her over, soon being piled on by every single person that comes down. Vriska gasps for air and flails her arms around.

"N-Now I s-sorta wouldn't m-mind 8eing separated!" Vriska STANDS and knocks everyone off and pounds on her chest for air.

"Phew! Dammit you guys you all nearly crushed me!"

"I Did Tell You To Move Vriska." Kanaya stands up and dusts herself off.

"Yeah too little too late! Whatever." Suddenly a not so mysterious voice echoes in the dark dome like room.

"Yo guys."

"! GAMZEE IS THAT YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I sTiLl CaN't ReAlLy ShOw Ya. It'D fUcK sHiT uP mAn. Ya HeAr?"

"G4MZ33 YOU P13C3 OF CR4P! HOW C4N W3 3V3N KNOW 1T'S YOU IF YOU K33P H1D1NG!? WHY WOULD SHOW1NG YOURS3LF TO US FUCK WH4T3V3R UP HUH?!"

"HmMmMmMmMm. WeLl SiS iF i ShOwEd YoU aNyThInG yOu WoUlDn'T bElIeVe Me AnYwAy."

"S4YS WHO?!"

"SaYs Me. :O) lOoK i KnOw YoU mOtHeRfUcKeRs WaNt SoMe AnSwErS, bUt YeR gOnNa HaVe To WaIt... I dOn'T wAnT iT tO bE tHiS wAy, BuT tHaT's HoW iT's GoTtA gO fOr ThInGs LaTeR oN tO bE... sTrAiGhT fOrWaRd I gUeSs. I'm TrYiN' tO pRoTeCt Ya SeE, aNd I cAn'T hAvE yOu GuYs FuCkIn' It Up WiTh YoUr /WiLlS/ aN' sHiT"

"OUR W1LLS?"

"YeAh. LeT mE tHiNk NoW... cOnSiDeR mE... tHe NeW hAnDmAiD oF sOrTs AiGhT? i'Ll TeLl YoU tHiS. i AiN't ThE gAmZeE fRoM tHiS tImElInE yA dIg?"

"THIS TIME LINE? ARE YOU..."

"I'm A fUtUrE gAmZeE. aIgHt I'lL tElL yA a LiTtLe BiT. yA'lL aRe GoNnA hAvE sOmE tOuGh TiMeS iF yOu DoN't Up AnD gEt YoUr LiStEnIn' EaRs On CaPiScE? i MaDe ThIs TuNnEl A lOoOoNg FuCkIn' TiMe AgO... sO tHaT yOu GuYs WoUlDn'T dIe. YoU gOtTa GeT tO tHe CiTy AnD tHiS iS tHe OnLy WaY i CoUlD hElP yOu GeT tHeRe."

"g-gamzee..."

"TaVrOs... FuCk It'S nIcE tO sEe YoU yOu AiN't GoT nO iDeA bRo... NaH mAn I cAn'T gEt DiStRaCtEd. I gOtTa FoCuS aNd GeT tHrOuGh ThIs ShIt WiTh Ya'Ll. YoU'rE gOnNa GeT tHrOuGh ThIs FuCkIn' TuNnEl AnD wHeN yOu Do, JuSt Do WhAt I sHoWeD yOu EaRlIeR, wHiCh Is GeT iN tHaT fUcKiN' hIvE gOt It? WhEn YoU gEt In ThAt HiVe... YoU'rE gOnNa HaVe SoMe NeW cLoThEs. Ya GoTtA bLeNd In. AfTeR tHaT..."

"AFTER THAT? WHAT MAN?"

"YoU'rE gOnNa Go FiNd ThE cUtEsT lItTlE fUcKeR eVeR nAmEd LeViNa, AnD sHe'Ll HeLp YoU oUt. ShE wOn'T bE tHe SaMe LeViNa ThAt I kNeW... aH mAn ThIs Is HaRd To ExPlAiN. bY tHe TiMe YoU gEt To ThE cItY... tHrEe SwEePs WiLl HaVe PaSsEd OkAy?"

"WHAT THE FUCK? HOW IS THREE YEARS GONNA GO BY?!"

"I nEeD yOu GuYs HeRe... ShIt'S gEtTiN' rOuGh..."

"Is Sollux there Gamzee?! Please tell me!"

"He'S hErE... AlRiGhT lOoK... wHaT i'M gOnNa Do... Is I'm GoNnA fReEzE tImE hErE oKaY?..."

"Gamzee what are y0u talking ab0ut? H0w are y0u g0ing t0 d0 that?" Aradia steps closer to the voice, curious... He's obviously standing right there!... She can almost smell the faygo on him.

"CaN't ReVeAl ToO mUcH aRaDiA mY gIrL... bUt JuSt KnOw ThAt YoU cAn FuCkIn' TrUsT mE oKaY?"

"I trust y0u."

"WaIt Ya Do?"

"Yes. Y0u w0uldn't be wasting y0ur time c0ming all the way back here... I kn0w we can trust y0u."

"i...i TRUST YOU TOO GAMZEE! MORE THAN ANYONE!"

"YoU gUyS sPoIl Me Ya KnOw... I'm GlAd YoU tRuSt Me. NoW lOoK. i CaN't HeLp YoU aNyMoRe OkAy?... WhEn We'Re DoNe TaLkInG hErE, i'M fReEzInG tImE oN mY sIdE... sO gEt To ThAt CiTy, FiNd LeViNiA aNd ShE'lL tReAt Ya ReAl GoOd. AnD... sTaY tHe /FuCk/ AwAy FrOm ThE tEnTs."

"tHE TENTS? wHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"HE MEANS THE TENTS WHERE ALL THE OTHER JUGGALO ASSHOLES ARE."

"YoU gOt It MaN. yOuNgEr PaSt Me Is ThErE uNdErGoInG sOmE iNtEnSe TrAiNiNg OkAy? If YoU eVeR sEe Me, DoN't CoMe NeAr Me... BeCaUsE i WiLl KiLl YoU."

"What about Sollux?! Gamzee why won't you tell me more?"

"I jUsT cAn'T oKaY? yOu'Ll UnDeRsTaNd EvEnTuAlLy. BuT fOr KnOw... JuSt KnOw ThAt He'S aLiVe AnD i'M dOiNg EvErYtHiNg I cAn FoR tHe GuY. i'Ll SeE yOu LaTeR oKaY? tHrEe SwEePs LaTeR..."

"How long has it been for you highblood?..." Equius takes several steps forward to the dark figure and the voice.

"TeN sWeEpS mY bRoThEr..." Everyone's eyes go HUGE. That's 21 human years...

"H-How is Sollux even alive?!"

"... I sTiLl CaN't TeLl YoU. i CaN't TaLk AnYmOrE. mY tImE's OvEr GuYs. I'lL sEe YoU iN 3 sWeEpS. yOu'Re GoNnA hAvE sOmE wEiRd AdVeNtUrEs My FrIeNdS."

"wELL SEE YOU GAMZEE! i... i..."

"I kNoW." Tavros can almost hear the smile on Gamzee's face... and can hear how deep his voice hat gotten... he can only imagine how tall he is in ten sweeps... jesus that's a long time... and now they have to wait six and a half human years to see Gamzee again...

How WAS Sollux alive?... and what about aradia and Tavros and Nepeta? What would happen to them... when they got older? They would just die while the higher castes would live for much longer...

"D0n't be scared Tavr0s. We'll be alright."

"hOW DO YOU KNOW?..."

"Because I trust him. And I kn0w if he needs us where he is... then he'll need us all fit and ready." She looks at him and nods seriously... and Tavros looks down...

"hE ACTED LIKE... HE HADN'T SEEN ME IN A LONG LONG TIME... lIKE I WAS... dEAD."

"Tavros! If you sink into depression so early in the g8me you're gonna 8e worthless with your cool legs! So 8uck up pupa!" Vriska slaps Tavros' shoulder a little with a big fangy smile... and Tavros nods with a tiny smile.

"yEAH... i'LL MAKE SURE TO GET STRONGER THAN EVER... AND I'M GONNA LAST UNTIL I CAN FIGHT BESIDE GAMZEE AGAIN!"

"THAT'S the spirit! ONWARD guys! To the city!" Vriska runs forward ahead of everyone and Kanaya chases after her.

"Aww That Was So Nice Of You Vriska."

"I was just 8eing real with him. 8esides, this is W8Y more fun than 8eing dead on a dum8 island. ::::)"

TBC


	7. Chapter 7: Love all around

LAST TIME ON NEW GENERATION

()

"Tavros! If you sink into depression so early in the g8me you're gonna 8e worthless with your cool legs! So 8uck up pupa!" Vriska slaps Tavros' shoulder a little with a big fangy smile... and Tavros nods with a tiny smile.

"yEAH... i'LL MAKE SURE TO GET STRONGER THAN EVER... aND I'M GONNA LAST UNTIL I CAN FIGHT BESIDE GAMZEE AGAIN!"

"THAT'S the spirit! ONWARD guys! To the city!" Vriska runs forward ahead of everyone and Kanaya chases after her.

"Aww That Was So Nice Of You Vriska."

"I was just 8eing real with him. 8esides, this is W8Y more fun than 8eing dead on a dum8 island. ::::)"

()()

"So... How was your talk with your friends?" Future Gamzee looks at his hands a little... and clenches them tightly.

"It WaS wAy ToO gOoD mAn..."

"Are you going to cry?"

"No, DoN't Be DuMb... I jUsT... mIsS 'eM iS aLl..."

"I know you do Gamzee... But you'll see them soon, remember?"

"I kNoW... wE wIlL gEt To SeE tHeM sOoN... So I'M sToPpInG tImE fOr Us GoT iT?"

"I got it. Go for it man." The older and now larger Atori sits down on the ground and sighs.

"DoN't GeT tOo CoMfY. AnD dOn'T bLiNk. ThEy'Ll Be HeRe In A CoUpLe SeCoNdS."

"Don't get comfortable?"

"DaS rIgHt. HeRe We Go..." Gam grabs up some old worn white wands... and smiles at them a little... then squeezes them and the entire world goes quiet and still.

()

Gamzee and Atori walk to a separate tent, the other trolls following behind quietly.

"So. WhAt TeStS dO i GoTtA dO?"

"Well, the same thing we do to teach all of our subjuggulators. Jesus you really HAVEN'T been around other purple bloods have you?"

"NaH mAn."

"Have you been around ANYONE? What about your lusus?"

"My LuSuS... HeH. My StOrY iS a LoNg OnE bRo."

"Hm. I guess it would be. I have a lot of questions for you. But I'll have to wait until your little tests are over."

"YeAh. TeLl Me AbOuT tHoSe." Atori takes a breath, ready to explain it all, but lets it out seeing as how they get to a dead end.

"WeLl WhAt ThE mOtHeRfUcK iS tHiS?"

"Keep your spotted pants on." The larger troll walks forward and yanks a little cord. Parts of the tent start to move, and reveal a... a stage?

Atori walks over to it and motions for Gamzee to get his ass over there. So Gamzee complies and gets on the stage. There are no chairs for spectators.

The other trolls file in and stand there, waiting.

"Don't be scared okay?" Atori whispers to Gamzee, who only squints.

"YoU'rE fUcKiN jOkIn' RiGhT? I aIn'T sCaReD oF nOtHiNg."

"We'll see..." He stands back and Gamzee stands there at the center of the stage. Atori yanks a different rope, and circus props pop up from the floor and some fall from the ceiling. There are rings of fire, acrobatic swings, aerial hoops, and various other things.

"Gamzee. You will do some traditional exercises. Most of them require a couple things that you have to figure out yourself."

"WaIt We'Re SeRiOuSlY dOiNg CiRcUs AcTs?" Gamzee raises an eyebrow high and almost slumps. Atori simply nods and states factually,

"Of Course. Partners will come up and you gotta do the special acts alright?"

"Uh... SuRe. I'vE nEvEr DoNe AnY oF tHeSe BeFoRe ThOuGh." Everyone in the tent including Atori gasps, eyes wide.

"You're joking... There's no way!"

"I'm... ToTaLlY sErioUs. I mEaN, i'Ve SeEn A cOuPlE oF tHeSe On My OlD hUsKtOp..."

Everyone whispers as if not doing the tricks was against their very nature.

And it was.

"Well... You have a lot to learn..." Atori looks to the crowd and points out people and calls their names. The ones called quickly come up to the stage. All ages and sizes come to the stage. Seven people come to the stage.

A tall burly man with tiger make up. "Grooga."

A very thin but tall woman wearing bird face paint. "Chebur."

A very old thin, but built man, splatters on his face. "Kloshe."

A small boy probably only 2 sweeps old with flame makeup. He looks proud to have been called on stage, a big smile ripping his face nearly in half. "Teiono."

A slightly older girl, maybe 4 sweeps with a very sad frown on her face. Her makeup appears to be a monkey. "Persha."

A boy about Gamzee's age with long straight hair and a very serious face steps up and seems to stare Gamzee down... His makeup is that of a dragon. "Marsho"

And finally, a very strong looking woman comes up and she looks like she hasn't had pie for days. Or maybe she's eating or drinking something else, because she looks like a crazy bitch. Her hair is in a pony tail, but her whole head is spiked and curled in random places much like Gamzee's. "Reznia."  
Reznia's make up doesn't look like anything specifically other than possibly an acid trip with paint.

"These are your partners okay?"

"Uh, YeAh SuRe." Gamzee looks over them all carefully and takes a liking to Teiono, the boy with flame makeup.

"HeY kId."

"Hello! I'm very proud to be one of your partners for this training exercise Grand Highblood!" Persha, the sad frown elbows him a little.

"Don't talk to loud..." Atori clears his throat.

"Gamzee... ah this is pretty hard now since you don't even know what these tricks are. But we won't show any mercy and show you. You'll learn on your own."

"YeAh. GoT iT." All seven people run at Gamzee and Marsho, the boy with long straight hair pushes Gamzee very hard at the shoulder, knocking him back on his ass.

"Ah?!" Gamzee falls right on his ass and looks at Marsho like WHAT THE FUCK BRO.

"Get up." Gam looks totally confuse, but gets up and is quickly grabbed my old man Kloshe and thrown in the air. For such an old guy he is buff as shit. Gamzee flails his arms and legs in the air having literally zero idea about what's going on.

As Gamzee gets tossed around, the clowns in the audience laugh at him and his failures to catch on. They laugh hard and long, pushing each other and pointing at their... uh... well, lacking leader.

Gamzee does his best to slow things down and analyze what's happening. What he does see is Atori's slightly disappointed face.

Oh shit.

Looks like he's gotta really focus.

He finally lands on his feet and gets a good look at what everyone is doing. Flips are some of what he sees. Oh shit they're seriously doing like gym and circus stuff.

For a long time Gamzee gets pushed and swing and flown in the air and he has no idea how to deal with any of it. How does he react? When does he flip? Does he flip? Does he fight or what? What the hell is going on? Everyone here is so skilled.

They flip and land gracefully. They toss each other around like rocks, but no one seems to be at all confused as to their parts in this whole... this Cruiqe du what the fuck fuckin fuckery theater!

"An hour of complete and utter failure passes and Gamzee ends up on his face, nearly everyone laughing and pointing at him. He hears people from the crowd call rude things to him.

"You'll never get it you—"

"Worthless piece of shit!"

"Booooo!"

"Get outta here!"

"Stay down shit head!"

Gamzee can feel various feelings swelling up. Broken pride, complete puzzlement and above all... he feels like an absolute failure. Trolls begin to leave swiftly out of the tent, knowing Gamzee couldn't do a damn thing on that stage.

Atori sighs and walks over to the downed boy.

Although he doesn't get there before Teiono, who slides to his knees at Gamzee.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! They really shouldn't laugh at you..."

"Don't console him Teiono. He failed and he knows it. Look at his face." The sad Persha finally cracks a disgusting smirk, looking down at Gamzee.

"How the fuck did you kill our true Grand Highblood if you can't even do simple tricks?" Marsho folds his arms and looks down at him with heavy disdain...

The crazy looking girl Reznia stomps over and grabs Gamzee up by his hoody and stands him up and says absolutely nothing... An eerie silence.

"Now now everyone, give the fucker a chance." Atori steps up and brushes Gamzee off. The younger troll can't help but see the disappointment in his face and... even though he's only known him for a while, it crushes him to see he let someone he trusts down.

"Did you learn... ANYTHING at all from this?..."

When Gamzee can't answer, Atori just shakes his head and looks down.

"Well then... This is gonna take a while." He walks off and rubs the back of his head... but the other trolls stay there.

After a while, Gamzee finally sits up and leans back on his arms.

"FuCk..."

"Yeah, fuck is right. That was utterly pathetic." Grooga folds his muscular arms and looks down at Gamzee.

"WhY aReN't YoU lEaViNg?" The crazy looking girl Reznia grumbles something incoherent and walks away... Persha sighs and walks off, her sad face back in place, followed by Grooga and the others.

The tent is empty now and Gamzee just sits there.

What the hell sort of training exercise was that supposed to be? How was that supposed to prove anything? How does that make him a better leader to these people?...

It bugged him and he thought the whole thing was stupid. What a complete waste of time. After the show he seemed to put up that morning it all looked really ridiculous and now the fucking grand highblood Gamzee was just sitting on the floor confused and defeated...

He takes a look back at the seemingly random props... Maybe he should practice. He has no idea how a lot of them work, but...

For the rest of the day Gamzee lazily swings from the acrobat aerial swings and just tries to get a general feeling for it. He quickly becomes discouraged though...

Why did any of this matter?... Why did he have to become the stupid highblood... why was he the only one left? Why couldn't his friends be there with him? It just... doesn't make sense. None of it.

Gamzee sits on the edge of the stage and hangs his head low...

Why can't he just be dead?

()

The cave is long and as opposed to the insane heat of the desert above them, it's FREEZING down here.

The group continues to run, still thinking about that future Gamzee they spoke to... He said that three sweeps would pass before they could see him...

"What do you think Gamzee is planning?..." Equius looks over at Eridan who looks deep in thought.

"I honestly aint got a clue Eq. But either wway wwe gotta get up there."

Aradia bites the inside of her cheek...

"I d0n't understand. H0w did he get all the way back here in time? He said he c0uld be seen as the new Handmaid right? H0w c0uld that be?"

"Maybe he's using some weird juggalo voodoo shit!"

"M4YB3. G4MZ33 C4N B3 V3RY UNPR3D1CT4BL3... H3 H4S SOM3TH1NG UP H1S SL33V3, TH4T'S W1THOUT 4 DOUBT."

"Purriska—"

"I swear to god Nepeta—"

"Just listen to me! Maybe the Handmaid gave him special powers! He was the only one that was sepurrated from us other than Pawlux... And he said that Pawlux was there and efurything! Sooo maybe she saw this and planned for it?"

"That Isn't Totally Unlikely. Aradia, On Your Journeys With Her, You Saw Many Things Happen And You Had To Plan In Advance Correct? She'd Been Doing It For Her Whole Life Probably, So She's Seen Many Various Things Including Our Futures Obviously."

"YEAH. SO I'M GUESSING ALL THE SHIT WE'VE BEEN FORCED TO GO THROUGH HAS ALL BEEN LEADING UP TO THIS SHIT?"

"PROB4BLY. 1'M JUST 4 L1TTL3 BOTH3R3D... WHY WOULD 4NYON3 P1CK G4MZ33 TO GO 1NTO TH3 FUTUR3 1NST34D OF ON3 OF US? L1K3 M3."

"Uh, or MEEEEEEEE! It's not fair that Gamzee got to—"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP. GAMZEE'S OBVIOUSLY THE RIGHT ONE FOR THIS JOB."

"Rawr, Karkat's getting snippy!" Vriska pops an eyebrow up and looks to the side at him.

"HE MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH A LOT TO TALK TO US EVEN FOR THAT SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME."

"Karkat's right." Aradia nods a little.

"Traveling thr0ugh time is n0 easy task. It takes l0ng h0urs and days and sweeps 0f practice. And seeing as h0w he t0ld us he hadn't seen us in a very l0ng time..."

"aW... gAMZEE. iT MUST HAVE BEEN HELL FOR HIM."

"HE PROBABLY—"

"Look There!" Kanaya suddenly points ahead of them and skids to a stop, everyone slowly stopping and bumping into each other.

Everyone looks up where Kanaya points, and there in front of them is... a HUGE slug type of creature! It appears to be big enough to have... made the entire tunnel itself. It sits there right in their way looking down at them with it's weird slug eyes...

Tavros steps forward a little bit to it...

"u..uH... eXCUSE ME! wE NEED TO GET THROUGH HERE! cOULD YOU... MAYBE MOVE A LITTLE BIT SO WE CAN PASS? pLEASE?"

The slug doesn't move for a while... until it begins to bend down to them and feel Tavros with its little feelers on its face. It's super gross and slimy and Tav is covered with go when the slug backs off a little.

The white slug creature slips out of the way into another hole.

"WHOA. DID THAT THING JUST LISTEN TO YOU?"

"uH... YEAH IT DID. i FEEL LIKE IT WAS A LUSUS AT SOME POINT..."

"I thought the same thing." Equius folds his arms and nods a little bit...

"Well then! Let's shake a leg guys!"

"Ew!... Speaking of legs..." Feferi points down at their feet. The whole floor is bones and skulls and old horns...

"Oh My..."

"That's fuckin sick. So... I'm guessin' that there thing was guarding the path?..."

"1T'S B33N W41T1NG FOR US 1T S33MS."

"Aww... Look at it." Nepeta runs up to the creature and watches it sizzle away, decaying and rotting into the rocks."

"Eugh. It smells horrible..."

"Uh, you mean 'THANK YOU' fishy face?"

"Uh yeah... Sure."

Karkat watches the slug disappear and Vriska just grabs his and Nepeta's hands.

"Let's go. We have a jo8 to do remem8er?"

"Yeah... I remempurr..." Nepeta nods a little and goes to adjust her hat- that she doesn't have anymore. It was destroyed in the last fight with that stupid sea hitler. She sighs, but is quickly back papped by Equius. His glasses are gone too.

The group continues on down the tunnel cave thing. It's not nearly as populated by things as it was before the slug thing. It looks like nothing was allowed past that thing.

"I HATE HAVING TO WONDER ABOUT THINGS..."

"Well Karkat," Feferi starts. "You aren't the only one. I mean... not to make it sound like your feelings aren't valid, but we all hate it. And we have to work together and stick together. We have to talk to each other and get the right information out. I think we'll make it and everything will get solved!"

"You're so optimistic Fef..." Eridan of course wasn't so sure about all of this.

Kanaya continues to lead the way and just waves her hand back at them.

"I Think That's Quite Enough Eridan. You May Not Be Quite As Positive As Some Of Us... But Even Though Gamzee Is A Strange One And He's Hardly Been Trust Worthy The Last Sweep Or So... I Believe That He's Worked Through Many Things And Has Become A Different Person."

"i'M SCARED HE'LL BE TOO DIFFERENT."

"Oh?"

"yEAH... wHAT IF HE'S JUST SOME GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE GAMZEE BUT ISN'T REALLY?"

"Well Tavros He Remembered You And Seemed To Miss You Very Much When We Spoke To Him. I Think You Should Keep That In Mind While We Travel. We Have Three Sweeps To Go And We Have To Keep Our Chins Up." Tavros looks down a little bit... and stares at his legs as he walks...

"yEAH. i'LL TRY MY HARDEST."

After many many hours of traveling Kanaya gasps and runs forward!

"This Is The End!"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW FOR SUR3?"

"Light! There's light! Equius look! Karkat!"

"YEAH I SEE IT. FINALLY. I'M COLD AS SHIT."

"The question is guys are wwe in the city or outside of the fuckin' gates?"

"Let me see here." Feferi rushes ahead and comes up next to Kanaya.

"Lift me up and I'll see if I can see something."

"Careful, Go Slow."

"Fef wwhy don't you let me do it?" Eridan steps forward a little worriedly, but Feferi waves him off.

"Eridan I'm not a grub." Kanaya boosts Feferi up slowly and Feferi reaches up to the light. The moment she touches it, sand pours in over her and Kanaya gaining some girly yells echoing down the tunnel.

"Fef Dammit I fuckin' told you!"

"Eridan shut your glubbin gills for a second!" She shakes it off and Kanaya spits to the side, making a grossed out face. Who knows what was in that sand. EUGH.

Feferi slowly peeks her head up, trying to keep her horns down so it wouldn't be too obvious... And as she looks side to side they're just inside the walls. With a gasp, she leans down saying "Guys we made it inside the wall! We're in the city! And we're right where Gamzee said we would land!"

"Ah good! Well so far so good. I'm ready to get into that hive."

"Same here... S0me f00d w0uld be very nice right ab0ut n0w."

"Allow me to hoist you all up." Equius walks up and Feferi smiles.

"You're so sweet Equius..."

"Look here, I'm goin' first. If anyone fucks wwith us wwhile wwe're comin' out I'll blast 'em."

"Eridan at least TRY to keep a low profile..."

"Yeah yeah. Alright Eq let's go."

"Yes."

Equius positions himself against the edge of the tunnel which was a very nice sight by the way, and threads his fingers together. Eridan goes up and puts his shoe in Equius' hand and is easily pushed up to the surface. He jumps up and crawls through, taking an extra good look around. This area looks like trolls didn't even traverse this little back alley way. He nods and goes back.

"Alright wwe're clear up here. Keep it dowwn though. Fef come on up."

"Right." Feferi takes her turn and steps up, getting pushed up and then pulled up by Eridan. This follows with Kanaya, Vriska, Terezi with Karkat behind her to make sure she didn't fall. He was next, then Tavros and Aradia at last. Equius was used to hiding his curious eyes behind those broken glasses, so when he and Aradia make eye contact, the maroon blood keeps her foot on his hand and her own hands on his shoulder for a moment longer... Then jumps up with Equius' help.

"Alright up ya go Equius." Eridan and Tavros grab each of Equius' hands and yank him up. Equius lands on his feet and suddenly the hole closes up as if it had never been there. The group looks at it a little stunned, and they suddenly wonder why they are surprised by anything anymore. Honestly.

"Right which way then?"

Nepeta sniffs at the air a little and folds her arms...

"This way."

"Huh?" Feferi looks at her and then reaches out for her when Nepeta runs quickly down the back of the alley!

"Hey! _ "

"Sshhh!" They all chase after Nepeta and try their best to be quiet. Nepeta stops abruptly and places her back against the wall. the others follow suit and try to whisper but she holds her hand up to shush everyone. A child's ball rolls into view and everyone tries to shrink and hide and almost become one with the freaking wall. A little blueblooded boy runs up and grabs the ball.

"We're gonna get caught come on!" The boys friend calls to him.

"Yeah. Look the coulds are coming! Run for it!" The two boys run away quickly and our group looks at each other with wide eyes. Nepeta looks up where the one boy looked and sees the purple clouds rushing in.

"We gotta run for it!" Nepeta books it forward and the others do their best to follow. Finally FINALLY they see the little abandoned hive Gamzee told them about!

"There! Hurry up!"

"Anyone else having De ja vu?"

"Oh Hush." Kanaya rushes past Vriska and jumps behind Tavros who gets to the door first somehow. He grabs the handle and pulls on it, but—

"iT'S STUCK!"

"Are you serious!? Outta the way Tavros!" Vriska jumps up the four stairs and pulls at it.

"IF YOU FUCKING IDIOTS WOULD CALM DOWN AND GET OUT OF MY WAY..." Karkat gets Vriska out of the way and PUSHES the door in.

"Oh. Well then."

"YEAH, YA FUCKIN' IDIOTS." Karkat goes inside and everyone quickly follows, Equius being the last one, making sure everyone was inside. He closes the door behind them and they all pant to catch their breath for a second. Aradia looks up and itches her shoulder, a single drop having hit her, and she spots the clothes.

"Ah l00k. Just like bef0re when we were still at the 0ther hive."

"Oh yeah wwould ya look at that." The purple writing doesn't show up like it did before in their weird little vision, and the clothes are just hanging on the walls in order of blood caste. Their names are written above each set and everyone slowly goes to their own set of clothes. Each one has a teges folded neatly on the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE?" Kanaya picks hers up and unfolds it.

"It appears to be a shield from the rain. A rain coat?"

"YEAH. MAYBE IT KEEPS THE ACID OFF OF US?"

"tHAT'D SURE BE NICE." Tavros nods and looks at everyone's clothes.

"W3LL DO TH3Y 4T L34ST LOOK GOOD?"

"Well Terezi, Most Of Everyone's Clothes Are A Different Shade Of Blue Or Purple."

"HUH? 1S 1T B3C4US3 TH1S PL4C3 1S MOSTLY 4 BUNCH OF H1GH3R C4ST3 BLOOD3D TROLLS?"

"That looks like the case. Luckily me and Equius don't have to change anything. We fit in normally around here. Eridan too even."

"Wwhat do you mean 'ERIDEN TOO'?" Vriska laughs a little and waves it off.

"Well let's get these babies on!"

"yOU GUYS DO THAT. i'M GONNA GO GET SOME STUFF TO EAT." Tavros turns and goes to the other side of the room and opens up that little closet with all of their food in it. He shuffles through it and spots a folded piece of paper.

"? mM?" He picks it up and unfolds it. It's in Gamzee's goofy quirk- wait he can write? Since when?

"HeY tAvRoS. DaMn I mIsS yOu MaN :o( AnY tImE yOu GeT sAd Or FeEl LiKe GiViNg Up, I wAnT yOu To ReAd ThIs NoTe AnD rEmEmBeR tHaT i'M cOuNtInG oN yOu AnD wAiTiNg FoR yOu. YoU'rE a VaLuAbLe MeMbEr Of OuR gRoUp Of FrIeNdS aNd... MoSt ImPoRtAnTlY sOmEoNe I cArE aBoUt A lOt. HeH tHiS sOuNdS pReTtY cHeEsY bUt It'S tRuE. So LiKe I sAiD, iF yOu FeEl DoWn In ThE dUmPs, JuSt LoOk At ThIs NoTe AnD sMiLe FoR mE pLeAsE? I'lL sEe Ya.

YoUr ReD qUaDrAnT,

gAmZeE. :o)"

Tavros' eyes are wide and he just bites his lips with the biggest smile ever... He'd be absolutely sure to hold onto the note forever...

"Hey Tavros are you 8ringin' food or what?"

"aH YEAH SORRY! hOLD ON!" He folds the note back up and puts it in his jacket pocket, then grabs a case of food and brings it out.

By then everyone's got their blood disguises on.

"I wonder why we have to disguise ourselves like this! I mean... will they really kill us if they see we have different blood colors?"

"NEPETA THAT'S HOW IT IS... THAT'S HOW IT WAS ON ALTERNIA REMEMBER? PEOPLE LIKE ME. IF ANYONE FOUND OUT ABOUT MY MUTANT ASS THEY'D HAVE CULLED ME THE SECOND THEY KNEW. VRISKA SAID SHE SAW ONLY BLUE BLOOD LIKE BUILDINGS AND TENTS AND STUFF, SO THIS CITY PROBABLY DOESN'T HAVE ANY LOWER BLOOD COLORS. I THINK IF THEY SAW ME OR ARADIA OR YOU OR TAVROS WALKING AROUND WITH OUR REGULAR OUTFITS ON THEY'D FLIP A BITCH. BESIDES I THINK GAMZEE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. THIS ISN'T ANYTHING NEW FOR ME. IF I HAVE TO BE A DIFFERENT COLOR BLOOD TO SAVE SOLLUX THEN I'LL DO IT." Karkat nods to himself and looks at his Equius blue shirt. The sign is different. Everyone seems to know who the rebellious Signless was apparently so his sign has been changed.

Aradia's a Vriska cobalt blue, while Nepeta Kanaya and Terezi are variations of that blue going up and down the shades for that color. Eridan has to wear a hat to cover his fish fins and it bothers him SO FUCKING MUCH. He's an Equius blue along with Feferi who just uses her hair to cover up her fins. She has to take off her little tiara that shows off her pink color and they all look at each other.

"Tavros waht about you?"

"oH ME? lET'S SEE. i'M EQUIUS' COLOR."

"Well. I Guess We're Gonna Have To Come Up With An Excuse For Why We're All Suddenly In This Place."

Kanaya folds his arms, fairly uncomfortable in this outfit. Wearing a different color makes her a little sad. She feels like she can guess how Karkat has felt, having to always wear grey instead of that beautiful pure red color. She never minded it much and enjoyed looking at it. When Karkat showed it to her outright at the first hive when they got there, it made her so happy that he was comfortable with her...

"Let's just... Let's eat first. I dunno about the rest of ya, but I'm starvvin' to death."

"aH RIGHT! i SAW SOME WATER IN THE CLOSET LET ME GET IT." Everyone sits down and Tavros gets the water quickly.

"Hey you look like you're doin' pretty good with those sweet legs huh Tavros? Your arms gotta 8e happy they're getting a 8reak from pushing you in the wheel chair."

"yEAH NO THANKS TO YOU."

"Tavros I said—"

"i'M OVER IT. i DO FEEL BETTER NOW THOUGH. i CAN USE MY ARM STRENGTH FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN PUSHING MYSELF AROUND IN THAT THING... bUT I'M NOT GONNA SIT AROUND AND LET MY MUSCLES GET WEAK AND DISAPPEAR. wE HAVE A BIG JOB AHEAD OF US AND I WANT TO REALLY BE OF USE." He looks up at his friends after he sets the water down an sits on his metal rear. Feferi smiles widely at him.

"Tavros you're always of use. I think you're the only one telling yourself that you're worthless or of no use."

"Yeah! Tafuros you're big and strong! You fought really hard against the condescension with us and the highblood and it was just like I always knew you could! So don't doubt yourself okay? Because you're super cool!"

"a-aH, NEPETA YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME BLUSH." Tavros smiles super widely, his sharp teeth sticking out and his grey cheeks tinting orange.

Everyone grabs their food and eats it. It doesn't need heating up or anything. They just pour a little water in it and it cooks itself!

"1 TH1NK TH1S WOULD H4V3 B33N 4 P3RF3CT T1M3 FOR G4MZ33 TO S4Y TH3T TH1S W4S 4 M1R4CL3." Terezi chuckles a little and sniffs the food. It smells SO good and she just wants to eat the whole damn thing. Aradia hands her a fork and everyone grabs little bagged utensils and they all dig in.

The rain outside pounds on the hive and a thick steam rises outside with things that burn. Aradia looks out of the window while she eats and just stares at it.

She used to love listening to the rain on Alternia beating on her windows. She misses being able to go outside and dance in it and dig things up from the mud.

How things have changed...

The night comes quick and nearly everyone passes out on the floor on the mats and sleeping bags and pillows provided by Gamzee.

Feferi is sitting up watching the rain continue to fall with a worried expression on her face.

Eridan can't quite sleep so he looks back at her and just stares...

"Fef. Wwe're gonna get him back, you hear?" Feferi jolts a little and looks at Eridan. Her eyes slowly fill with tears and she looks away and down at her lap.

Eridan frowns and gets up and sits next to her.

"Eridan... I'm so scared..." She puts her fists to her eyes and cries without a sound. Eridan can only look down at his own legs and nods a little.

"I'm scared too... Things ain't the same as they used to be. It wwas all pretty simple back then compared to now. Wwe'd bicker about the dumbest shit."

"Th-That can't be all you remember a-about us."

"Fef, honestly after all this time of thinkin' I don't think there ever wwas an 'us' to speak of."

"W-What? Not even as ... moirails?"

"No. Especially not as moirails... You alwways took care of me Feferi. You wwent out of your wway to help me and make me feel better... and all I did wwas wwhine and... LET you do the all the wwork. I didn't carry my owwn wweight and I'll nevver be able to apologize enough for that. Evver. I didn't mean to ruin things so fuckin' bad... I wwas... so stupid. I didn't see wwhat I had in front of me and I only thought of myself and had pity parties and I wwanted others to feel bad for me too. At least that wway I could get some attention."

"Eridan... I'm..."

"Don't you dare say that you're sorry."

"H-Huh?"

"You should absolutely not be sorry for a single fuckin' thing you hear me?" He looks at her finally and she looks at him with her tear filled eyes.

"I wwas the one wwho couldn't see wwhat I had. I already had friends. I was a fuckin' douche bag and all I did wwas let it all swim right ovver my head. I messed up. I messed up wwith all of you. I screwwed it all up wwith you and I screwwed it up with Sol too. And then we got to that dead planet and I fucked it up evven more. Heh... but Fef listen. I'm gonna make it better okay?..."

"Eridan..."

"I'm gonna showw you that I'm not some pouty wworthless sack of shit with seaweed for brains. I don't... I don't care wwhat I havve to do to savve Sollux. If I get him back to you and make you happy again it'll all be wworth it. I knoww no amount of apologetic wwords I throww at you wwill change the past and wwhat I'vve done. But I'm gonna do my absolute best to at least balance it out by doin' some good." Feferi puts her hand on Eridan's and he looks at her again. Her face is even more sad than before.

"You... You already..." She lets a sob escape her throat and she squeezes his hand harder.

"Eridan you dummy... You died for us... You knew what you were doing. You knew you were going to make us mad at you for what you did. You knew you were doing the right thing and you sacrificed all connections with us to do what had to be done. You protected me and saved me so many times! You died... You glubbing died because you knew that you had to... And then even after that your s-stupid corpse came back and helped us fight... Eridan you idiot! You've done s-so much for us!" Her pink tears stain her face and she sobs into her free hand. Eridan frowns and holds her hand back.

"See though? I'm still makin' you cry though...

"You're so stupid!" Feferi twists all the way and hugs Eridan tightly around the neck and cries into his shoulder. Eridan's eyes go a little wide... When was the last time he really... HUGGED Feferi?... He relaxes and hugs her around the waist and pets her head softly.

"I knoww I am."

"S-Shut up dammit. Shut up..." She squeezes him tighter and Eridan just closes his eyes and stays quiet. In his mind he replies

"Yes your Majesty..."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8: Looking for Levina

A little from me.

Omg thanks to that one guest for defending me. 3 Let me love you. *kissu* I'm used to people whining and complaining about things, but it's nice to occasionally have someone to tell the meanies to stfu. 3

I will continue to do my best whether some of you guys think it is or not. :3

()

Last time on Act 3 New Generation: Chapter 7: Love all around

()

"You... You already..." She lets a sob escape her throat and she squeezes his hand harder.

"Eridan you dummy... You died for us... You knew what you were doing. You knew you were going to make us mad at you for what you did. You knew you were doing the right thing and you sacrificed all connections with us to do what had to be done. You protected me and saved me so many times! You died... You glubbing died because you knew that you had to... And then even after that your s-stupid corpse came back and helped us fight... Eridan you idiot! You've done s-so much for us!" Her pink tears stain her face and she sobs into her free hand. Eridan frowns and holds her hand back.

"See though? I'm still makin' you cry though...

"You're so stupid!" Feferi twists all the way and hugs Eridan tightly around the neck and cries into his shoulder. Eridan's eyes go a little wide... When was the last time he really... HUGGED Feferi?... He relaxes and hugs her around the waist and pets her head softly.

"I knoww I am."

"S-Shut up dammit. Shut up..." She squeezes him tighter and Eridan just closes his eyes and stays quiet. In his mind he replies

"Yes your Majesty..."

()

The next morning, Terezi is the first to wake up. The hive smells like the oldest wood ever. It's nice though. It all feels warm and safe... She knows this is probably not true, but she'll just have to deal with it.

Terezi sits up and stretches with a breathy sigh afterwards, then sniffs around. The first smell that hits her is her blue berry colored outfit she has to wear now... Having to wear disguises makes her a little sad, but it mostly makes her feel... uneasy. It's disturbing in a weird way.

The teal blood stands up and smells past the other blues and cobalt colors to get some food. The closet is so full of food all the scents fill her nose quickly. She thinks she smells styrofoam cups of noodles, and she DEFINATELY smells some amazing liquid. It's the first thing she grabs... but a thought hits her.

How long could they live like this? How long would they HAVE to live like this? Damn that Gamzee for not explaining everything in detail. But she supposes it's alright... Won't it be okay?...

No... Gamzee was probably doing this as a last ditch effort... She wonders what her and the group will be forced to go through to get to the future that Gamzee is in...

A yawn tears her from her thoughts, only just noticing she had a cup o noodles in her hand.

"Good Morning Terezi."

"H3Y K4N4Y4."

"You Sound Sad. Are You Alright?"

"S4D? H3H. NO NOT S4D. JUST TH1NK1NG 4BOUT HOW LONG W3 C4N R34LLY ST4Y H3R3." Terezi tosses Kanaya the cup o noodle, then grabs another one for herself.

"TH1S DO3SN'T LOOK L1K3 MUCH FOOD FOR T3N OF US TO L4ST FOR V3RY LONG." Kanaya looks at the cup o noodle and sits there quietly for a while.

"I Think We'll Be Alright. We'll Likely Go Through Difficult Times, But Even So I Know We'll Pull Out Of It."

"WHY DO YOU TH1NK TH4T?"

"Hm? Well... Because We're All Supporting Each Other. It's Almost Strange Now To Think That On Regular Terms None Of Us Would Even Be Speaking. Our Blood Would Keep Us All Away From Each Other And Would Certainly Keep Us From Being Friends. And Yet I Find It Ironic That The Condescension Herself Banned All Adult Trolls And Left Us Kids Here. And In That Time We All Became Good Friends Regardless Of Blood Color. Do You Recall When Eridan And Karkat Were Very Good Friends? Best Friends Basically?"

"Y34H. 1 R3M3MB3R 1T W4S 4 L1TTL3 W31RD." Kanaya stands and goes to a corner of the hive where there is in fact the tiniest of kitchens. A stove and an oven were there and a small sink. Next to the sink was a microwave. She fills her cup with water and then puts her cup in the thing. Terezi comes over and puts hers in there too. Kanaya closes the door and heats both up.

"See, Once The Cups Spin Around Enough Times, We'll Forget That They're Different Cups."

"H3H. JUST L1K3 US SORT4."

"Yeah."

"ON3 TH1NG THOUGH."

"Hm?" Kanaya waits for Terezi's answer even after two minutes of the cups heating. The microwave beeps and Terezi opens the door and reaches in.

"MY CUP H4S 4 T34R H3R3. 1'LL 4LW4YS B3 4BL3 TO T3LL WHO 1S WHO. W3'R3 TH3 S4M3 4ND W3R3 D1FF3R3NT."

"I Suppose You're Right." Kanaya grabs out her cup and grabs some utensils, a fork for herself and one for Terezi.

After a minute or two of eating quietly, they hear another stretch. Nepeta sighs happily, full of energy from her sleep.

"Ah morning guys!"

"MORN1NG N3P3T4."

"Did You Sleep Well?" The kitty girl gets up and walks over to them and rubs her eyes.

"I did. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be! And look, the rain outside stopped!"

"Ah So It Has."

"W3'LL B3 4BL3 TO GO OUTS1D3 TH3N."

"Yeah! And we should find that girl Gamzee talked about!"

"A Girl?..."

"Yeah! Gamzee said we had to look for someone named 'Levina' I think was her name? 'Levinia'? Something like that."

"1 WOND3R WHY W3 H4V3 TO GO S33 H3R." Kanaya fiddles with the noodles in her cup and thinks.

"Well She Must Be Important Enough To Be Mentioned By Gamzee."

"WHY TH3 H3LL 4R3 W3 JUST BL1NDLY FOLLOW1NG WH4T TH4T GUY S4YS 4NYW4Y?" Terezi slurps her noodles up almost angrily, and Nepeta just smiles and puts her hands on her hips.

"Well what do YOU want to do Terezi?"

"Indeed. We're following him for a cause. Not blindly. We have to get Sollux back... And we have to get Gamzee back too."

"BUT WHY?"

Nepeta and Kanaya look at Terezi confused. The shorter kitty girl puffs her cheeks out and responds.

"What do you mean WHY? Because they're our furrends! And we have to stick together! We've already been through a lot and being sepurrated is just not how we run things Terezi! Why are you asking such silly questions? Do you really need validation for what we're doing?"

"H3H." Terezi smirks a little.

"DON'T B3 S1LLY. 1'M M4K1NG SUR3 TH4T W3'R3 4LL ON TH3 S4M3 P4G3. W3 /4R3/ GONN4 G3T SOLLUX 4ND G4MZ33 B4CK." Kanaya looks at her friend worriedly... These weren't questions that she wanted to face right now. What stupid questions they were! WHY? How could she answer that? "Don't be an idiot", "They're our friends of course we're gonna save them", and "because why would you want to hand over one of our best friends to Sea Hitler?!" are some answers that come to her mind quickly.

"I Think I Want To Go Outside And Explore Now..."

"Huh? Without the others?" Nepeta looks at Kanaya with her head cocked to one side.

"If We All Go Out In Such A Large Group People Will Surely Get Suspicious. Going In Smaller Groups At A Time Would Be A Much Better Idea."

"Oh yeah, you have a point. I'll go with you after I get some food!" The kitty girl bounds over her sleeping friends on the floor and gets something from the closet, leaving the jade and teal blood alone. Terezi finishes her noodles with a loud slurp and a happy sigh. She smells that Kanaya isn't done with hers yet and that she's just fiddling with it now.

"4R3 YOU S1CK OR SOM3TH1NG?"

"Wh-What? Me?"

"NO NOT YOU YOU DUMMY, TH3 FUCK1NG W4LL."

"Ah... Your Questions Just Bothered Me Is All..."

"Y34H?"

"Yes! They're Dumb Questions And They Frustrate Me. Or Rather You Frustrate Me For Even Uttering Them. 'WHY' You Said. Ha! There Are So Many Angry Answers I Want To Give You But I Know That Wouldn't Be Right... I Feel Like Askign You What You Would Do If Karkat Was Taken Again? By The Condescension Instead Of Just By Eridan And Dualscar. What If He Was In Real True Danger? What If I Dared To Ask You 'Why Do You Want To Follow The Only Person Who Could Help Us Get Closer To Saving Them?' Do You Understand My Frustration? 'Why' Is A Terrible Question. The Real Question You Should Have Asked Even In Jest Is 'When Are We Leaving'."

Terezi chuckles a little.

"W3LL DUH. 1'D R41S3 H3LL. 1'M SORRY TH4T MY QU3ST1ONS SOUND3D... WRONG? TH4T TH3Y D1DN'T SOUND—"

"It's Done Terezi. I Will Not Discuss This Further." She proceeds to eat her noodles and slurp up the broth that was left and puts it in a disposal basket, then walks off. Terezi is a little shocked, unused to Kanaya being snappy like that. Maybe she took it too far too soon?... Hm. Well that's too fucking bad. Questions are hard sometimes and you have to deal with it.

Terezi stands up and throws her cup in the garbage too, remembering where the sound echoed from and copying it. She walks over to her friends to step over them to grab her rain coat thing just in case the rain came back in unexpectedly, and notices that Feferi and Eridan's smells are cuddled together. Huh.

"H3Y F3F3R1, G3T UP, W3'R3 GO1NG OUT." Feferi grumbles a little and opens an orange eye very tiredly... She takes a few seconds to realize that she's gone and curled up to Eridan in her sleep. With a tiny gasp she sits up and looks at her sleeping friend... She frowns a little...

"WH4T'S WRONG?"

"Huh? Uh, nothing. Just tired is all." Fef rubs her eyes and looks at Nepeta stuffing a sandwich into her mouth and Kanaya adjusting her outfit so it was straight, then up at Terezi.

"I sense some negative energy. Is everything okay?"

"OH Y34H 1T'S OK4Y. 1 M4D3 K4N4Y4 4 L1TTL3 M4D 1S 4LL."

"Well then. You shouldn't go and do that." Feferi stands up and stretches, remembering she has on a nice dark cobalt color. It's not her pink though and she dislikes it. The sleeves are long and have a strap around the first half of the arms.

"Aw man. I really miss my pink already."

"H3H. NOT US3D TO B31NG ROY4LTY HUH?"

"It's pretty weird. Don't you feel weird in that blue color?"

"3H 1 GU3SS 1T'S 4 L1TTL3 STR4NG3..."

"ExcUUUUUUUUSE you guys, 8ut co8alt is obviously the 8est color." Vriska sits up and rubs her eyes a little.

"Oh, morning Vriska!"

"Hey. So what are we leaving yet?"

"Y34H. 1 W4S TH1NK1NG W3 COULD SEP4R4T3 1NTO SM4LL3R GROUPS. K4N4Y4 S4YS 1T'LL LOOK L3SS SUSP1C1OUS." Vriska stretches and then stands up, grabbing her glasses.

"Yeah well she's right. Splitting up sounds like a good idea. We don't know these people and they could freak out if a crap ton of new people in a group just wanders in. We'll have to be careful."

"You won't have to be really right? Because you ARE a blue blood."

"Heh. Yeah me and Equius got it easy. So you guys are gonna have to follow my lead. I think tod8s trip will be gr8."

"YOU'R3 JUST LOOK1NG FOR 4 R34SON TO S4Y SOM3TH1NG W1TH 4N 31GHT 1N 1T."

"Uh yeah it's sorta my thing chalk eater."

"Now Girls Stop That Already, The Others Are Trying To Sleep." Kanaya walks up with her ugly raincoat on and she looks positively unhappy with the whole outfit.

Aradia wakes up and looks at her friends standing and talking loudly.

"Y0u're all being rather l0ud.."

"O-Oh. Sorry Aradia." Feferi rubs the back of her head and smiles apologetically. Aradia sits up and yaaawns big, her teeth showing. She scratches her cheek a little and looks around.

"Are y0u all leaving? This is quite the vagina fest."

"Oh my god."

"Can I c0me?"

Nepeta bounds over and hands her and Feferi and Vriska sandwiches.

"Of course you can come! Don't be silly. We're gonna find the little girl named Levina like Gamzee said we should."

"0h yes. Thank y0u." The girls eat and straighten up and what not, taking a while like girls do. The boys are completely knocked out for whatever reason, but the girls aren't bent about it. They leave a big note for them on the floor reading "See ya l8r suckers. ::::) We're going out."

()

As the girls walk out of the hive, they get half way down an abandoned dirt path and stop to discuss groups.

"Alright girls there are Six of us! Going in three pairs of two would be good. We could also go in two pairs of three." Vriska folds her arms and stands in front of the girls.

"Well we don't HAVE to be in a group right? We could go solo right?"

"I mean if you WANT to go solo... Why would you wanna go solo Nepeta?"

"O-Oh I don't know! Just a thought. If we ALL go in a group then they might be like 'oh man why are we getting all these groups of girls?' ya know?"

"Hm. I guess you're right. Well maybe for a while we could stay in a group then break up and spread around town. We'll meet back at the hive iiiinnnn two hours once we split. Sound good?"

"It s0unds g00d t0 me." Aradia nods and rubs her eyes again. Sleepy Aradia. 3

"We have to stay with our blood colors. So Aradia Feferi and me are a group, so Kanaya and Terezi are a group while Nepeta is the first to go out solo."

"We don't have any money..." Feferi rubs her shoulder a little, and Vriska just shrugs.

"We aren't gonna frickin' 8uy anything are we? We have to keep a low profile! We shouldn't get acquainted with any of the people who live here. Especially not so fast. Now. Aradia and Fef, you come with me. Nepeta you go first."

"Got it!" Nepeta runs forward and is the first to disappear. Feferi gulps nervously... but is quickly lead by Vriska and Aradia. They walk down the path, looking at the old abandoned hives and other shop buildings on either side of the path. The place was a grid like any normal town would be and the colors were all dark. No bright colors to be seen as usual. When they break from the abandoned part, they quickly come to a bustling market. There are blue bloods everywhere. There is the occasional teal blood that makes Terezi wonder why she can't walk around with HER teal outfit on like normal... There must be a reason she decides and drops it.

Kanaya walks to one of the vendors yelling out cheap prices for glass necklaces and such.

"Hello There, Could You Tell Me Where I Might Find Levina?"

"If yer not gonna buy anything then scram." The vendor is straight forward, and Kanaya does as he says and continues walking. Terezi follows and sniffs around. There are vendors selling food, clothes and other random things one would see at a market place.

Kanaya looks around carefully and decides to lead Terezi into a building, hoping the inside people would be nicer than that last vendor was.

"H3Y BUDDY WH3R3'S L3V1N4?"

"Huh? The hell do you want with Levina?" This was a hard question to answer. The towns people must be close enough to know what the right answer must be. So Kanaya quickly speaks up.

"She Called For Our Presence And We- Just Need To Locate Her Is All."

"She's where she always is you morons."

"JUST M4K1N' SUR3, TH4NKS BUB." They quickly leave, ignoring the stares they get from a few people.

"Phew... This Is Difficult. Everyone Here Knows Everyone Else And We're The Only Ones Who Have No Clue About Anything. Perhaps We Should Have Brought The Boys..." Kanaya fiddles with her fingers nervously and looks around for help. They don't know what this girl even looks like. They know nothing about her, only that they have to find her.

"N4H W3 C4N DO TH1S... W3 GOT TH1S."

On the other side of town already is the quick Nepeta, light on her feet and quick as a ghost. She sniffs around, as if that would help her find the one person they needed.

"Hmmmmm..." She stands and folds her arms, suddenly noticing that her outfit was a little too big and loose for her. Eh.

The olive blooded troll walks around happily with a smile on her face, ready to deal with this new place. The stares she get don't really bother her because if she changed personalities to quickly people would surely get suspicious of her. A building catches Nepeta's eyes and they go huge.

"AHA!" The sign reads 'Levina's' and that's it. She runs in there and sees a few younger trolls in there talking and flirting in their own weird quadrant way. So this place is for the younger crowed then. Everyone looks pretty nice and they don't stare at her like the people outside did.

She goes to the front desk and a very old lady is standing there.

"Hello dear what can I do for you?"

"I have to talk to Levina."

"Ah one moment. Levina dear! A nice girl wants to see you! Haha. I'm only joking. I'm Levina."

"Oh? Hi! I have to talk to you right now."

"Right NOW?"

"Uu-uh... Well... M.. I guess not this second... I have to wait for my friends."

"Ah. Perhaps finding them and bringing them would be easier?"

"Hmmm yeah that's a good idea. Please don't leave though? We really have to talk to you."

"I know." The old Levina smiles at Nepeta and shoos her away.

"I'll be here."

"Thanks ma'am!" Nepeta runs out like a bolt of lightning, getting wide eyed looks from the customers. She runs hard and fast to find her friends! SHE FOUND LEVINA WOOO!

Back towards Vriska, she's already begun arguing with another cobalt troll about something irrelevant. Until she changes the subject.

"Look I ain't got time to talk prices with you 8u8. Where's Levina?"

"You're shittin' me! She's where she always is at her restaurant. You know. The one with her fuckin' name in it?"

"Well shit she could have gone out, WOW WHAT A FUCKING CONCEPT. Whatever, thanks." She walks off, and Aradia and Feferi follow her.

"Are y0u sure this is h0w y0u handle—"

"I handled it didn't I? I know how to work with these guys, don't worry a8out it. 8efore the adults were 8anned I did have to deal with a lot of them you know, so I remem8er how to deal with things."

"I trust you Vriska!"

"I'm n0t saying I d0n't trust her."

"Alright girls that's enough. So she has a restaurant with her name on it. That's helpful. 8etter than nothing."

"Yes. But n0w h0w d0 we ask where it is?..."

"Well duh. We ASK WHERE IT IS. Silly."

"Just out of the blue?"

"Yeah. Out of the 8lue guys. Just let me take care of this stuff." They walk forward and speak to a few more venders who just haggle them or ignore them if they don't have any money. FINALLY one nice boy points them in the right direction and they head that way. On the way Nepeta runs into them.

"Guys! I found her!"

"Y0u did?"

"Yeah! She's a super old tealish blood! And she's really nice! Where are Kanaya and Terezi?"

"H3R3 W3 4R3!" Terezi and Kanaya run up to them, never having strayed too far to lose sight of them in the first place.

"So You Found Her Nepeta?"

"Yeah! Let's hurry up and go! She's waiting for us!" Nepeta happily runs and leads her friends through the streets. Feferi looks at everyone around nervously as they give them weird looks... It's very nerve wracking, thinking they'll all be discovered and something terrible will happen...

But without a problem, they all reach Levina's place. Everyone is out of the bed and breakfast like building and Levina stands there at the front. Kanaya feels very nervous about all of this...

"Hello everyone. Just like he said. The girls would come."

"He?"

"You mean Gamzee?" Vriska steps forward a little and Levina nods.

"Indeed. come in the back and we'll have a seat. Can I get you girls anything at all?"

"Ah n0 thank y0u..."

"Alright then." Everyone heads past the desk and go into the back which looks like a little lounge for workers.

They all nervously take a seat and Levina eases herself into a large chair with purple cushions on it. The silence is ear shattering until old Levina finally speaks up.

"It's so nice to finally meet you all."

"Please Miss Levina, tell us everything you know..."

"Feferi right? Yes I can see how much like the Condesce you look. All of you look just as he described. He told me many stories..."

"Isn't he here?..."

"Oh no... In this version of the town... Gamzee never came. But he somehow knew this was the version that you all would land in instead of the one that he did. So he traveled in time and space... I was a very very young little girl at the time when I first saw him. He was so big I thought he was going to step on me. Even with his huge hands, he was very gentle with me... I miss him so much." Levina's face falls a little bit and she looks at her old hands...

"Alright I suppose starting from the beginning is best. Ahem.

When I was four sweeps old, Gamzee's huge figure walked into my shop here and he scared the daylights out of me. But he just smiled like I'd NEVER seen one of his blood smile and he bent down to me. He told me to wait for him. I didn't understand what he was talking about at all. Then he just left as quickly as he'd gotten there! I had no idea what the heck he was going on about, so I ignored it. But I often thought about it... Wait for him. Why? Who was he?

Years later when I was 4 sweeps old, he came back and this time he wasn't at all the size he was when I first met him. He was younger too. He just looked around like he'd never been there. So I offered him something to eat and drink and he accepted. He told me about his story from the world he was from. He'd met a version of me that was the same age when he first met that me and he seemed very sad. I asked him why but he wouldn't tell me. After a while he began to talk about his friends that he was trying so hard to protect and get to his world safely.

But again as soon as he got there and ate, he left and told me to wait again. So I waited again for him. I didn't know why I was the person he wanted to talk to about all of this... but he seemed interesting.

When I was 7 sweeps old he came back again and this time he was even younger. He didn't know as much as the last version of him did. His attitude was different. Like this time he had something VERY important to tell me. And indeed he did. He told me about his plan while it was still in his head. About how he'd gotten some wands that he was going to use to find his friends to help him."

"Help him ... with...?" Aradia tries to get a little more to the point. As interesting as all of this was she wanted to hop to it.

"In his world... He told me that one of his best friends was in a lot of danger."

"Sollux?" Feferi holds her hands tightly together...

"Yes, the yellow blooded friend. In his world where you are all from he told me that the Condesce had taken him while you were all fighting. And that he was going to chop that 'sea bitch up into sushi'. I asked how I could help... It was... very dangerous. Conspiring against the Condescension. But I didn't like her. I hated this city she kept us in. I hated her so much... So I wanted to help my new frustrated time traveling friend. He told me that his friends would be here. I asked how he knew and he told me he saw it in a dream from the messiah's. HA! A dream from the purple blooded messiah's... But he promised me that you would all come here. To ask me questions. So as I asked HIM questions, he gave me the answers I needed to give to you."

"What Were They?"

"Well let's see... I asked why he looked so sad last time he saw me. He didn't remember of course because that was in the future for him and the past for me. But I assumed it was because something had happened to me. We were both about the same age this time and I asked him what the me of his time looked like. He said I was still just 4 sweeps old running the restaurant with my lusus. I asked him what it was like to be with his other purple blooded friends and he said he hated almost all of them. The training was hard he said. I asked what training and he told me they were making sure he could be a good enough and strong enough grand highblood."

"Wait WHAT? Gamzee was... the grand Highblood?"

"He IS the Highblood in that world. Yes yes. He said he managed to kill the big brute flat on his back. He told me it'd been a few sweeps since that had happened. He told me... that he only decided to go with it because he thought you were all dead. Washed away in the sea witches final attack on the dead troll world you were all at. He truly thought deep in his heart that you were dead... It was very sad, I'd never seen purple tears before." Kanaya looks down and frowns...

"Wow he was... actually crying 8ecause he thought we were dead?"

"Absolutely he was. He told me about all of the other adventures and about everyone's relationships and the fun times... The bad times he told me about too. About how much he regrets putting you all through such a mess. What could I do but listen to him and his stories? I wanted to know all about him. I wanted to know about his friends."

"Wait if he thought we were dead then why did he know we were coming?"

"Ah yes sorry. He continued to say that on that third year he had a dream that all of you were walking in the desert, dying. He had this dream many times. Coming through a portal, living in the hive and then leaving the hive when it disappeared, walking in the desert and dying before you could even reach this far away city. He told me he would not 'motherfuckin' put up with this shit.' I asked him what he thought he could do and he only said he'd stay here for a while and dig. 'Dig' I asked 'You must be crazy.' 'Damn right I am, watch me.' So he went off quickly and ran right out of the city! I couldn't believe him, just running off like that. I chased after him but I didn't dare go past the gates... I was nervous for him because the acid rain could show up at any moment as you surely already know by now. But he left and I didn't see him for a week. But he came back quite a mess. I wanted to laugh at him. But the determination I saw in his eyes was astounding. He only came back to get a drink of water! I asked my lusus to help him, and we all went out into the desert together."

"Your lusus?"

"Yes. As I recall him saying at a later time if my lusus could guard the cave we were making for you all to travel safely through." Nepeta gasps and covers her mouth.

"The slug creature?! That was your lusus guarding part of the cave?"

"Yes. My lusus, me and Gamzee all dug and burrowed away for months to get a cave. We couldn't figure out how to close it up though. And suddenly we saw purple writing on the ground. It scared us a little bit, but I remember clearly watching the purple words say 'I got this.'" Vriska nods a little and folds her arms.

"So the future Gamzee was talking to his past self to let him know that he'd figure it out eventually."

"Indeed. Phew. Time traveling shenanigans. Anyway, we finally dug the cave allllllllllll the way to the city. And Gamzee finally asked my lusus when we were done, if he would guard the hole we were at. My lusus complied and he stayed there, using his whole body to plug the whole. I was sad to see my lusus go, but I trusted that Gamzee knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. Especially since his future self wrote to us like that. It made me feel better that my lusus was doing something for the cause. I thought 'what cause'... and I thought about that for a long time. But Gamzee reassured me that he was going to change the world with his plan. He was going to get his friends back if it killed him."

Nepeta puts her too big sleeves over her eyes and tries to hold back tears.

"H-Heh. I knew it!... See g-guys? Gamzee did all of this... Levina and her lusus did all of this to get u-us here. So we could purrogress and get Sollux back! He's a loyal friend I TOLD YOU!" She sniffles into her sleeves a little and Feferi rubs and pats her back a little.

"Yeah. Gamzee is a real friend... I never doubted him."

Levina watches them and smiles.

"After that he told me to wait again because his future self would be coming to visit me again. I thought that was strange, but I'm sure by that time he was able to control the wands enough to travel in a linear fashion. And sure enough, so many sweeps later I almost forgot about him, when I was 30 sweeps (65 human years) old he came back and told me to please be prepared. You were all going to come in a few sweeps. I had to tell you everything."

"Have you really told us anything though?" Vriska looks at Levina with half anger and half doing her best not to scream. So 100% anger.

"You're not patient enough Vriska, just like he said."

"WHAT?!" Kanaya laughs a little into her hand.

"Now for the important part. The much older and bigger Gamzee I remember from when I was 2 sweeps old had finally come back to me and told me some terrible news.

Sollux has been confirmed seen on the Condesce's ship,... being used as a battery." Feferi's eyes go huge and she covers her mouth.

"And this is why he needs your help. He needs everyone's help to get him out of there... But he told me when you arrive, none of you will be even close to peek physical or mental condition to help him fight the witch. And so he needs you to get strong here in this world... Because here... I'm dying in three sweeps."

"It'll be ab0ut then that we'll have t0 leave..."

"Yes. When you are done with your 3 years, I will die opening a portal for you all to get to his world."

"Levina... I don't want you to die!"

"Ah it'll be a natural death of old age. My caste only lives about that long. And that's okay. Because I know I'm helping my friend, your friend... and the entire world you live in as we know it."

"But... Will it help THIS world?"

"Think of it this way. There is only ONE version of the Condescension. She can travel to all versions of our world, being a time traveler..."

"Hold up! What's stopping her from messing up Gamzee's plans?"

"Gamzee's magic. Right now the Condesce has no idea that we're here speaking about this. His 'chuckle voodoo' he called it."

"His magic is strong enough to—"

"The wands Vriska. They must be helping amplify Gamzee's magic that he'll have gained." Aradia nods a little thinking hard about this. He's definitely got the Handmaids wands. That's what he meant when he told the others to think of him as the new handmaid in a way.

"So... Is That All We Need To Know?"

"Hmmm. Let me think... Ah yes! He told me to tell all of you to keep a close eye on... oh what was their names... Car kit and tavrass?..."

"Karkat and Tavros?"

"Ah yes them!"

"K33P 4 CLOS3 3Y3 ON TH3M? D1D H3 S4Y WHY?"

"He told me that you would all have very hard and impossible looking times. Gamzee has frozen the time in his version of the world so that you could all take your time with training and growing up correctly. So... Some things will happen that will make you all think about important things... So keep an eye on the two of them. I think that's about it..."

"WHY COULDN'T H3 T3LL US TH1S H1MS3LF?"

"He had more important things to get to than explain everything for you. Hehe. Like, carrying out his plans full of time travel to get you all here. Plans he had to get to to get your Sollux friend back."

"444H GU3SS YOU'R3 R1GHT."

They're all quiet again...

"So. For three sweeps I will always be here and you'll always be welcome here. I'll always help you in any way I can."

"I'm..." Nepeta starts and fiddles with her hand, carefully looking up at Levina.

"I'm sorry about your lusus... He died as we came through and asked him to move."

"He did his job. He played his role and he did it all right. I'm proud of him and I know he needed a good eternal rest. I'm not sorry at all." Nepeta smiles a little and lets out a small reassured breath.

"So how... are we gonna go a8out this three year training spree we have to do?"

"Well Vriska I'm not the time traveler!" Levina smiles and stands up.

"I'm assuming it's your guys' jobs to figure out what will make you stronger."

TBC

**(personal notes)**

**Feferi. Eridan.** _gam._ **Equius. Vriska. Terezi. Kanaya. Nepeta.**_ sol_. **Tavros. Aradia. Karkat**

**Aradia Karkat Eridan Feferi Vriska– ****cobalt **

**Nepeta Kanaya Terezi- blue variations**

**Tavros Equius – blue**

**(So Aradia Feferi and me are a group, so Kanaya and Terezi are a group while Nepeta is the first to go out solo.)**


	9. Chapter 9: Search!

A little from me.

Shout out to one of my favorite guest reviewers "calmAnarchist" 3

()

LAST TIME

()

"WHY COULDN'T H3 T3LL US TH1S H1MS3LF?"

"He had more important things to get to than explain everything for you. Hehe. Like, carrying out his plans full of time travel to get you all here. Plans he had to get to to get your Sollux friend back."

"444H GU3SS YOU'R3 R1GHT."

They're all quiet again...

"So. For three sweeps I will always be here and you'll always be welcome here. I'll always help you in any way I can."

"I'm..." Nepeta starts and fiddles with her hand, carefully looking up at Levina.

"I'm sorry about your lusus... He died as we came through and asked him to move."

"He did his job. He played his role and he did it all right. I'm proud of him and I know he needed a good eternal rest. I'm not sorry at all." Nepeta smiles a little and lets out a small reassured breath.

"So how... are we gonna go a8out this three year training spree we have to do?"

"Well Vriska I'm not the time traveler!" Levina smiles and stands up.

"I'm assuming it's your guys' jobs to figure out what will make you stronger."

TBC

()

The night has passed and Gamzee had gone back to his own tent for a rest. A humiliating rest. As he pushes aside the flap of one side of the tent, he looks over at the skull on the wall of the young Highblood before him... Gamzee goes over and jumps up a little to grab it and takes him down and stares into his empty eye sockets... He takes the skull into the throne room with that stupid huge chair, and he refuses to sit in it. Not only can he just not get up there without using unnecessary energy... but he really doesn't deserve to sit there. So Gamzee sits on the ground facing the throne holding the little skull in his hands.

"Yo. AtOrI sAiD yOuR sIgN wAs IaPeTuS oR sOmEtHiNg. So I'm GoNnA cAlL yOu ThAt NoW, oKaY?... Yo mAn... I GoTtA TaLk tO YoU AbOuT SoMeThInG. i mEaN... DiD YoU HaVe tO Do tHe tEsT ToO? hOw'd yOu dO It? I AiN'T SmArT EnOuGh fOr tHaT I GuEsS. tHeY KiCkEd mY AsS ToDaY... I BeT YoU DiD It pReTtY FaSt. YoU AnD KuRlOz i gUeSs... WhY CaN'T I Do iT LiKe i bEt yOu gUyS DiD?... wAs i nOt pAyIn' AtTeNtIoN Or sOmE ShIt? PrObAbLy. HeH... Yo, WhY DoN'T YoU TeLl mE YoUr nAmE? i tOlD AtOrI YoU NeVeR SaId yOuR NaMe pRoBaBlY BeCaUsE KuRlOz dIdN'T CaRe aBoUt iT... BuT I Do. I WaNnA KnOw mOrE AbOuT YoU AnD HoW YoU DiD StUfF... CaN'T YoU SaY SoMeThInG To mE? aNyThInG At aLl mAn... I'M GeTtIn' PrEtTy dEsPeRaTe oVeR HeRe." The skull is silent as one should expect. Gamzee's head droops and he just thinks. He's got nothing left in his life. And he feels entitled to feel like he doesn't want this life either as the grand highblood... His friends, his only pillars of support are gone. Killed by that fucking sea witch-...

He can't kill that bitch if he's weak...

That's it.

Gamzee stands up and looks at the skull.

"ThAt's wHaT I'M GoNnA Do. ThAt's mY ReAsOn... YeAh. I GoTtA GeT StRoNgEr tHaN HeR... So i cAn tAkE ThOsE StUpId hOrNs aNd rIp tHeM OuT Of hEr sTuPiD FuCkInG HeAd aNd hAnG HeR By hEr hAiR... tErEzI WoUlDa lIkEd tHaT RiGhT? yEaH. tHiS Is iT. mY ReAsOn tO StAy hErE." He stares into the empty holes of that skull... and nods a little.

"ThAnKs mAn." Gamzee rushes back to the front of the tent and jumps up to hang the skull up, then runs out of the tent passed any juggalo's that are out. They watch him run off to the training tent and scoff. Although some of them get curious and follow after him.

Gam gets in that tent and rushes to the stage where all the equipment is still placed, jumping up and looking around...

"RiGhT. i cAn dO ThIs." The purple blooded boy rushes at one of the hoops that were no longer on fire and hops through it- but the bottom of that gets in the way of Gams foot and trips him, right on his face. Smooth.

He gets right back up and rushes to the other side, only to run back and jump through again. This time he makes it. Good, this is a good start.

"Oi. What the fuck are you doing?" Calls a troll.

"WhAt tHe fUcK DoEs iT LoOk lIkE I'M MoThErFuCkIn' DoInG? aRe yOu gOnNa hElP Me oR WhAt?"

"Help?" The troll lifts an eyebrow so high it could have disappeared into his hairline.

"YeAh. HeLp."

"Uh. No."

"ThEn pIsS OfF BrO. i aIn't gOt tImE FoR YoU If yOu'rE GoNnA DiStRaCt mE." Gamzee presses onward and continues doing some of the other tricks. Of course he's not very good at them just yet... Well, he can ride the unicycle for a while, but since that doesn't really help him progress, he gets off and tries to do-

"Hey."

"WhAt N—oH. yOu." The troll woman with the bird make up. What was her name again...Chebur!

"What are you doing in here alone?" Gamzee looks behind Chebur and sees the first few trolls on the ground, having been shoved out of the way by her.

"I'M... PrAcTiCiNg. I AiN'T GoNnA LoOk lIkE No dAmN FoOl iN FrOnT Of tHe oThErS AgAiN..." Chebur folds her arms a little and looks at Gamzee hard in the eyes...

"Is that so. So you're not giving up then?"

"FuCk No. I FoUnD A ReAsOn tO KeEp fIgHtInG..."

"Hm. I see.—"

"SEE!? I told you! I told you he wouldn't give up! He's the Grand Highblood!" Little Tieono rushes in the tent, stepping on one of the grounded trolls face's and rushes inside. The boys fire painted face is so wide with a smile Gamzee swears it's gonna snap like a rubber band. Tieono runs up to Gamzee and hugs him around the waist, only to be yanked back by Chebur.

"He IS our Highblood, so respect his space. If you had done that to the last one he would have crushed you under his heal.

"A-Ah you're right. i'm sorry sir!"

"N-...No DoN't WoRrY aBoUt It."

"Sooooo..." A different voice comes in, followed by many other footsteps. The whole gang walks in, the voice in front belonging to that crazy looking girl Reznia. It's almost snake like, but it's also husky and gritty.

"You're doin' this shit without us? You idiot. You can't fucking clear the test without us."

"I DoN'T GeT It... WhAt aRe yOu aLl cOmIn' In hErE FoR?" Gamzee looks around and back at everyone. The first thing he sees though is the boy his age, Marsho, running at him. The boy jumps up on stage and over Gamzee's head and onto the acrobatic swing.

"We didn't feel bad for you if that's what you're thinking. You didn't run away from this and instead you came back. I mean, you didn't really have much of a choice if you wanted to keep living, but I admire that you were going to do it alone if you had to. So we're here to help you."

"Yeah," Reznia hisses.

"So be grateful to us you little rat."

"Reznia calm down." Klosh clears his throat and pushes Persha a little closer.

"Go on Persha get in position."

"Yeah yeah." The angry little girl goes on the stage and gets on a different acrobatic swing. Everyone rushes the stage, but Klosh dashes for Gamzee. Gamzee remembers this and he bends backwards avoiding the tackle. He kicks his feet up and turns himself around on his hand to face the others on the stage who are all in different places.

"HoW ThE FuCk dId kUrLoZ Do tHiS? hE WaS WaY ToO DaMn bIg."

"He didn't do it. At least not like this." Kloshe speaks up.

"He was young like you once. And this training is used on everyone to make sure they are worthy of being a purple blooded troll, and a believer in the Great Messiah's. If they are worthy to serve the Highblood."

"W-WaIt a fUcKiN' sEcOnD, yOu mEaN WhAt i'm dOiN' rIgHt nOw iSn't tHe /HiGhBlOoD/ tRaInInG?"

"Don't be an idiot! If that were true we'd all be eligible to become the highblood! Think before you say stupid things!" It was weird to hear Reznia speak, considering her state of mind not too long ago.

"Indeed." Grooga looks down at Gamzee from a balancing spike.

"This is only to make sure you can be with us at all. If you can't at least pass this test then you are as good as dead. Even if you killed Kurloz, there are many more of us who are all very strong and not even you could kill us all if we chose to gang up on you." Gamzee looks around at them all and notices this. Even the younger ones have a fire in their eyes. A purple blooded pride. Which he also notices the older everyone is, the more their eye color shows. Of course he knows as you get older your iris fills with color, but it was a little strange since all of his friends still had black eyes, including himself...

"HeH. yEaH I FiGuReD. sO... Ya'lL ArE GoNnA HeLp mE HuH?... tHaNkS."

"Yeah yeah. There's a point to all of this you know. It isn't just to train your skills that you should already fucking know, but it's supposed to make sure you know what the shit is up with all of us and yourself. Understand?"

"Persha he'll figure it out."

"HoW DiD YoUnG KiDs lIkE YoU AlReAdY PaSs tHiS TeSt tHiNg? YoU MuStA, sInCe yOu'rE ThE OnEs hElPiN' oUt."

"They're prodigies Gamzee. All of us here knows what makes this exercise important."

"A lot of these trolls are lucky they're still allowed to live you piece of shit." Reznia again.

"Most of them forgot what this fucking training was for! If you forget, then I'll kill you myself!"

Gamzee looks at her. He wonders what Reznia's story is... But he mostly wonders what he's supposed to be learning from this.

"Stop wasting time." Marsho swings over to him and goes to kick him. Gamzee grabs his feet, but Marsho of course is strong enough to hold on and he just flings Gamzee into the air. He flails around, but remembers last time he did this it didn't go well. Don't panic. Just calm the fuck down.

"I got you!" Persha swings over, her legs curled and holding onto the bar while she grabs Gamzee's hands with her own. It confuses Gamzee a little but it suddenly clicks in his mind that this is how to do it. Good it's slowly coming together. Persha drops him and Gamzee lands on his feet- on top of Grooa's feet who is standing on his hands! Grooga Kicks Gamzee up into the air when Marsho swings at him again. This time Gamzee manages to use his weight to flip and dodge getting hit, but he also grabs onto the boys legs again and swings himself up on the bar with Marsho, punching him in the stomach. Marsho lets out a breathy groan only to instantly uppercut him afterwards. The younger boy swings down and then back up on the other side to Knock Gamzee off, but Gamzee does the same thing and swings up, kicking Marsho off once he gets to his feet on the bar. The boy goes flying and Klosh jumps and spins, Grabbing Marsho's hand and swinging him up so he can at least land upright. Tieono rushes up, jumping off Chebur's back and grabs one leg and yanks Gamzee off the bar. He's so strong! Gamzee's eyes are huge and he looks up at the litte boy holding him up with a big smile.

"Sorry Sir!"

"DON'T APOLOGIZE TO HIM ONO!" Reznia jumps up there, flipping like a canon ball all the way up and thrusts her legs out, kicking Gamzee in the stomach very hard and sending him rocketing out of Tieono's hand.

"Awww that wasn't very nice Reznia."

"Shut up and GET HIM!"

"Hehe. Yes ma'am!" The two run over there. At this point the main focus of all of this is in the top right corner of the stage, getting further up into the frame, the ropes for the curtains and sand bags and what not.

Reznia jumps in front of Gamzee while Tieono jumps behind Gamzee. He looks forward and backward at them, then down to the stage where Klosh points silently. Reznia stomps quickly over to him and goes to swing her claws at him. Chebur swings over on a bright yellow cloth for the aerial ribbon dancing and kicks Reznia in the face knocking her down over the railing, sending her back down to the stage. Tieono jumps at Gamzee and goes low, but kicks up at him, getting him in the throat. Gamzee chokes a little but he grabs the railing with one hand and Tieono with the other, swings backwards and throws the young boy down at the stage. Chebur swings back down to Gamzee and kicks him, knocking him off the ribbon. Gamzee doesn't quite understand all the way what exactly they're doing. Well clearly they're sparring on the equipment, but why are they all helping each other and then fighting them and repeating? Grooga Kicks Gamzee in the back of the head before he can even land on the wood of the stage and sends him into the sky almost touching the top of the tent! Persha was up there waiting and she jumps down to kick him, but Klosh jumps up there with his surprisingly strong legs and tackles her. The two are grabbed by Marsho on a ribbon and lets them land on their feet on the ground. In the mean time Tieono throws a rope to Gamzee to grab, which he does quickly. Where the hell are all these extra things coming from? Maybe it was supposed to be seamless? Dammit what is he supposed to be learning? But he'd do this all day if he had to to learn what it is that he has to understand about this training. Reznia said that most of the trolls of their caste forgot what they learned... Gamzee notices these trolls are different from the other ones. The trolls outside almost seem mindless and... well they're very much like Kurloz was. But the trolls he's working with... they seem to have a different way of thinking. They all seem very focused and precise, knowing exactly what they're doing. They all seem to trust each other too...—Wait. That was it. Trust! Holy crap. He supposes it was a good thing to learn.

He already trusted his other friends... But to show up and not know these people at all... Trust was hard with all of these new people he has to learn about. He has to trust him. That's what the other trolls forgot. They forgot how to trust one another and they became crazy like the highblood who trusted no one.

Well he's got it now... He trusts most of these people. Tieono mostly. Children even in troll society haven't yet learned the real way adults act towards each other. No wonder he passed. Trust comes easy to kids. He wonders how Persha passed at all since she seems very distant. Reznia was a whole other bag of crazy beans, but the others don't seem to be scared of her at all. They trust her and she trusts them back. It's formed a bond between everyone even though she's super scary looking and sounding. But even so Gamzee would believe in her just like the others did. He chuckles as he flies around with the rope. Couldn't they have just done a trust fall.

Wait. Trusting is one thing but why do they attack him afterwards?

"Are you figuring it out pet punk?!" Reznia uses the swing to flip over to him. Gamzee looks up at her, knocking him out of his thoughts. He hears another troll jumping up towards him, and he closes his eyes. Reznia tackles Grooga to the ground before he gets ahold of Gamzee.

He opens his eyes and looks down.

He has to learn when and when NOT to trust someone. They could be your friends or your lusus. But there is always the possibility that you will be betrayed and you have to learn who and when you can have faith in someone.

Gamzee jumps down and decides he needs to join in for real now that he knows what the dealio is. He rushes for Kloshe after making short eye contact with Reznia. She looks at him and then at Kloshe and makes her way around.

Kloshe sees Gamzee going for him and can't help but smile inwardly, proud that Gamzee seems to have figured it out. He readies himself for the attack, and is surprised when Gamzee simply dives down on his knees and goes under Kloshe between his legs, and between Reznia's legs when she frog jumps over the old man's back and grabs him, throwing him across the stage.

Chebur rushes in and catches Kloshe, while Persha jumps beside Gamzee. She looks up at him and Gamzee just nods a little.

Ah he's starting to understand. He wasn't making eye contact with anyone. Gamzee can almost clearly see the intentions in the eyes of others now that he's paying attention. Reznia stands next to Gamzee while Tieono and Marsho land behind. Grooga stands with Chebur and Klosh.

"Old fucks versus young fucks!" Reznia smirks with her fucked up protruding teeth, her eyes widening crazily.

"More like intelligence versus idiots."

"HeY!" Gamzee chuckles a little and the young ones get ready for an attack, while the older trolls stand there ready as if they were born for it.

"Well." Everyone looks over to the entrance of the tent and see Atori standing there with his arms folded. Along with the other purple bloods all watching. They somehow all filed back inside the tent without the group noticing.

"A-AtOrI!"

"Did you learn what this was for?"

"It sUrE WaSn't gRaNd hIgHbLoOd tRaInInG GoD DaMmIt. BuT I LeArNeD ThE LeSsOn."

Atori is silent and he looks at everyone on stage who nod at him and smile when their eyes meet.

"I see. I'm glad. Don't think this is the end though you little shit."

"HeH. aS If. I'M ReAdY FoR EvErY TrAiNiNg yOu gOt fOr mE."

"We'll see. Good job everyone."

"AtOrI. i tHiNk wE ShOuLd dO ThIs tEsT FoR ThE TrOlLs wHo fOrGoT." Atori raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Forgot? Who FORGOT?"

"A LoT Of yOu gUyS I ThInK FoRgOt. BeCaUsE ThAt mOtHeRfUcKeR KuRlOz wAs tHe hIgHbLoOd fOr sO FuCkIn lOnG I ThInK YoU GuYs nEeD A ReFrEsHeR."

"He's joking right?" A random troll says. Atori just shrugs and smirks.

"I'm pretty sure he isn't joking. I'm setting you up in pairs!

"WHAT?! Hey! We aint' wrigglers anymore!"

"Gamzee Makara said we should refresh your memory. And I think you should god damn listen to him." Atori turns and looks down his nose at the noisy troll who just grumbles at him. Gamzee smiles a little... An army... He's going to build an army. But how would he convince them to try and help him take down the Sea-bitch... If she did something to them they'd have a reason to fight back maybe... it's rare for an uprising against the Condescension... Everyone knows how that ends. But he's not like the other people. He's not going to lose...

He won't let the deaths of his friends have been in vain...

()

The group of colorful trolls make their way around the city after talking to Levina, and they're all in quite a state of shock and thought.

Gamzee could time travel. He'd gotten the wands from the Handmaid somehow and he was using them to help their journey along. Hmph. They suppose their lives wouldn't be complete without some stupid god damn time travel bullshit.

"She has Sollux... so we all have to get really strong okay guys?" Feferi looks up from her feet.

"YOU DON'T H4V3 TO T3LL US TW1C3."

"We'll be here for three sweeps so we have enough time to get as STRONG as we can." Equius flexes his arms a little and Nepeta jumps on his bicep and flexes her muscles too.

"We're gonna practice and train super hard! We don't let that stupid fish queen take Sollux away from us!"

Tavros' heart is still beating hard hearing about Gamzee... He thought they were dead... That's why when they were in the cave and Gamzee was acting the way he did... It hurts Tavros' heart to know that Gamzee has suffered through something like that. Why is it always Gamzee? Why does Gamzee always have to be separated from them all... This is destiny... and Tavros hates it.

He looks down at his legs... his metal legs. They would be his pillars of support. He got these legs from Equius so he could be helpful to his friends and to get Gamzee back without being a burden... And he would continue to use them to help his friends and to get Gamzee back... he wouldn't be a burden anymore. Not ever again...

Aradia looks at Tavros and sees the determination and focus growing in his eyes as they walk. She smiles a little bit and faces forward.

Karkat on the other hand is angry. Why does life have to be this shitty? Why can't they all just sit around and be normal fucking troll kids? WHY THE FUCK DOES THE CONDESCENSION ALWAYS FUCK EVERYTHING UP FOR EVERYONE IN THE WORLD?! God damn her.—

"Karkat. Don't Worry Okay? We'll Figure This All Out And We'll All Be Back Together." Kanaya puts a hand on Karkat's shoulder lightly and smiles a little with her natural black lips. Karkat just looks up at her... and then back down.

"I HOPE SO. I WISH I COULD BE AS OPTIMISTIC AS YOU GUYS."

"Well Just Remember We Have A Goal. We Have To Get Sollux. And Gamzee-"

"GAMZEE'S THE GRAND HIGHBLOOD IN HIS WORLD NOW... HE CAN'T JUST FUCKING UP AND LEAVE... HE'LL HAVE TO STAY WITH THE OTHER DUMB ASS CLOWN SHIT STAINS..." Kanaya takes her hand back and puts both hands behind her back.

"I Suppose That Could Be True... But We Still Have Three Sweeps. Things Could Change Karkat. So Please Try Not To Be Too Negative."

"WHY BE POSITIVE WHEN YOU COULD JUST HAVE IT ALL THROWN IN YOUR FACE? I'D RATHER THINK NEGATIVELY AND NOT BE SO SURPRISED WHEN I'M RIGHT THAN BE POSITIVE ALL THE TIME AND HAVING WHATEVER HAPPENS SLAP ME IN THE FACE..."

"If That's How You Want To Deal With It."

Vriska stays farther behind and watches the others talk and think. Watching them all was pretty interesting. Observing is something she likes to do. What she notices is mostly everyone is overly excited to get to work, and then sees Karkat being a grumpy negative asshole as usual. She had to admit to herself that the group without Sollux and his 2tupiid liipiing was pretty sad. Although being without Gamzee wasn't too bad... He always caused trouble for the whole group. Come to think of it he was the reason all of this was happening at all. Damn him... But she figures at least its making things interesting... Sigh. She also notices up front Eridan and Feferi seem to be debating on whether they should stay close or keep their distance from each other, and wonders what on earth is going on between them right now.

Up front Eridan walks ahead of Feferi a little. Feferi looks up at him now and again and can't help but think how much taller he got. He's become more mature than ever and it almost makes her feel like a child standing next to him.

"Eridan—"

"Fef I don't evven wwanna talk about it."

"You don't even know what I was gonna say!"

"Don't doubt me Feferi. I wwill help you all get Sollux back. He's my friend too you knoww."

"What?... Friends?"

"Wwell yeah. You're kiddin' me Fef. Wwe hate each other a lot. N-Not like that of course, but wwe'vve alwways been like this. And he took care of you. I owwe him ya knoww? He's one of us and old fights mean nothing wwhen wwe're in a situation like this." Feferi looks at the back of Eridan's head and she feels a pit in her stomach.

"I'm... really glad to hear you say that... Back then you probably would have—"

"I still wwoulda helped savve his stupid ass. If you remember right Fef, I tried savving us all by joinin' Jack Noir before he fuckin killed us all." Feferi looks up quickly at him and her eyes go wide.

"That was crazy talk—"

"I wwas still trying to keep us safe." The fucia blooded girl looks shocked... It was a crazy idea. But... he really was trying to keep them safe.

"I'm sorry..."

"I told you last night, don't apologize to me." Eridan finally looks back at Feferi a little.

"Look don't wworry about it okay? Wwe're gonna get this shit done and wwe aint gonna lose like wwe did last time... That shit queen is going down if it's the last thing I do."

"Speaking of which... now that that ghost troll planet is flooded, do dead trolls still go there? Or do you think they go to a different world when they die?"

"Hm... I'm not sure about that one. I hope they go to a different planet... Because dying sucks. But to die and then instantly be eliminated from existence as a wwhole right after you land is pretty shitty."

"I don't want to die Eridan..." Eridan quickly grabs her hand and holds it tightly as they walk.

"Don't fucking say that Feferi. I wwon't let that happen."

"I don't want YOU to die again either."

"If that's wwhat it takes to protect you then I'll fucking do it. Understand?" He looks back at Feferi again... Feferi looks a little shocked... and holds his hand back.

"Eridan I don't... understand."

"Then stop thinkin' about it. Let's just focus on getting better at what we do and do what destiny has set up for us."

"You suddenly believe in stuff like that."

"Ha. No. But I figured you did."

"Well I DON'T clam head. We changed destiny last time and we can do it again. I know we can. Because it's us." Her grip on Eridan's hand tightens and she walks in time with him.

From behind, Karkat sees them holding hands and squints in their direction. Are they going red?

()

After their long walk back to their hive they stand outside and think.

"Where are we going to go to train? I mean... What if we get caught?" Nepeta fiddles with her fingers and looks at Vriska and Equius.

"Well actually these 8lue and co8alt 8loods seem pretty toned down around here. They're just selling shit and sitting around."

"That is rather unusual. All of my fellow bloo bloods were quieter than usual."

"8uuuut that doesn't mean they won't cull the shit out of us if they see your guys' blood colors." Vriska folds her arms, suddenly remembering that they're both made of flesh instead of one being metallic. heh. It made her feel good.

"IT WON'T BE TOO HARD. JUST KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE WITH OTHER PEOPLE. IF WE GET CUT AROUND EACH OTHER IT'S OKAY BECAUSE WHO THE FUCK CARES. AND AROUND OTHERS JUST MAKE SURE TO HAVE ENOUGH CLOTHING ON OR BANDAGES WITH YOU TO COVER ANY CUTS OR BRUISES."

Karkat puts his hands on his hips and slumps a little. He thought all of this was obvious. But apparently not to his friends who were used to walking about with their colors in plain sight.

"What about our eyes?"

"AH YEAH I DIDN'T GET THAT FAR FOUR EYES. AS YOU CAN SEE MY EYES ARE STILL BLACK."

"Your eyes might be the first to turn, and if not yours then Aradia's. The second someone sees our eyes changing color they're gonna flip their shit..."

"WELL MAYBE THEY JUST WON'T CHANGE FOR THREE SWEEPS. IF THEY DO I'LL JUST HIDE MY FACE. BIG WOOP."

"It IS a 8ig woop!"

"i KNOW WE CAN TRUST GAMZEE." Everyone looks over at Tavros and his unwavering face. He looks so sure of himself and the others seem to relax just a little.

"wE'VE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO TRUST HIM. wE'VE JUST NEVER SHOWN IT TO HIM. bUT I'M GONNA CHANGE THAT... i'LL NEVER EVER DOUBT GAMZEE NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS."

"Tavros..." Vriska sighs and folds her arms tightly.

"Whatever... We gotta find a place to start. Maybe there's a place where we can all REALLY fight and focus on training and shit."

"I'll go look for somewhere!" Feferi raises her hand a little and smiles.

"Are you sure Feferi? You're also a 8ig deal with your 8lood being the color it is."

"Well I'll just be super careful!"

Eridan doesn't like this idea but he can't hover over Feferi forever... so he says nothing. Nepeta throws her hand in the air too.

"I'll go look for places too!"

"sAME HERE. wE SHOULD ALL SPLIT UP." Tavros raises his hand and steps forward and gets a smile from Feferi and Nepeta.

"Well you idiots what the hell are we gonna do here?" Vriska throws her arms up, then places them back down on her hips. Terezi stabs her cane into the dirt a few times mindlessly.

"W3LL VR1SK4 W3 COULD JUST B3 P4T13NT 4ND W41T FOR TH3M TO COM3 B4CK." Her tone sounds like that should have been the most obvious answer. Vriska just glares at her a little...

"Any o8jections?"

"Nepeta... are you sure?" Equius turns to his meowrail and the shorter girl makes a thumbs up.

"I'm sure! I did used to live in a cave you know, I'm good at this sort of thing!"

"I suppose you're right."

"Feferi, You Wouldn't Mind Anyone Coming With You Would You?"

"I just think going alone would cause less suspicion."

"Eridan, You Aren't Going To Say Anything To Her?" Kanaya looks over and up at Eridan who simply avoids eye contact and just looks to the side.

"She's not a wwriggler anymore. Feferi can take care of herself. She's provven that enough times if you ask me." The jade blooded troll is a little taken aback by this, but at the same time she's astonished at Eridan for making this choice. It's very adult like of him.

"I think I'll stay here. I d0n't feel like having t0 deal with that rain just in case it comes back... Even with these rainc0at things." Aradia puts her hands on her hips and looks fed up at the simple mention of the acid rain.

"I guess it's settled then. 8e careful you guys."

"wE WILL!"

"Got it!" Nepeta rushes off quickly, followed by a wave from Feferi and metal running footsteps from Tavros. The rest of the group look at each other and then head inside.

()

Several hours pass for the three trolls searching for a good secluded place to train.

Feferi finds many many empty hives. There are picture of blue bloods with their lusus and their friends and their quadrants. Food is still in a lot of the cabinets although it's not salvageable at this point...

During her search she starts seeing pictures of other blood castes. All the way down to Aradia's maroon red. So this city was once home to nearly all blood castes?

She wonders what changed...

The abandoned hives don't provide anything that's useful to bring back to their hive and she looks for more empty spaces that are very far away from other trolls. She's walking around freely though. It's like everyone has run away from the outskirts of the bricked up city walls and moved to the center. So the entire perimeter appears to be a safe place.

Feferi happens upon a weird looking stage like thing. There are remnants of... Tent stakes.

She bends over and rips one out of the ground. It's been there for sweeps. The stage has been too. But... it isn't just the stage that surprises her. It's what's on the stage.

Another black hole like the one that was in Sollux's room in that first hive!... Feferi runs over to it and jumps up on the stage.

"Gamzee?... Do you have something to show me?" She sure HOPES it's Gamzee anyway.

The black hole swirls and starts to show a movie of what look like memories...

The forest from the deal troll planet!... She sees all of them fighting the Condesce, but she can't spot sollux... Wait...

She was seeing through Sollux's eyes! Every time he used his psionics, the screen would flash red and blue, temporarily losing sight. The scene flashes to Condesce shoving the mind honey down his throat. Everything flashes red and blue for a long time.

After a while of watching, Feferi sees the flashing lights die down and turn black. A moment passes and then everything flashes white, the now flooded world of dead trolls completely devistated...

Sollux's paniced breathing is heard as the screen shifts side to side where Sollux looked. The sound of chuckling. Sollux turns around quickly to see the Condesce floating behind him with a smirk.

"Poor little psionic boy. Lost like a wriggling barkcreature. You did something terrible you know."

"F-Fuck you! What...What diid you do two me?!" Sollux's eyes are wide and he floats away. He's tired from using his powers so much... but the bitch is right in front of him.

"It's )(ardly w)(at I did to you. It's w)(at you did to your own friends. A s)(ame reelly."

"What are you fuckiing talkiing about?!"

"You reelly DON'T remember. Awww. )(ow terribly sad. You murdered all your friends. Monster."

"ii... No! ii couldn't have!"

"You DID. Look at t)(is mess. You killed t)(em all you little s)(it."

"ii wouldn't! You're fuckiing lyiing! ii would never hurt... my friiend2!"

"A)( t)(at's true. Let me see. Your stupid mindless clown friend went and killed a few as well. He relapsed and did quite a lot of damage."

"Gamzee?... No way..." Sollux's thoughts consist of "no way" "ii fuckiing knew iit!" "Gamzee you motherfucker!"

"YES way. You and t)(at disgusting purple blood did my job for me! )(ow sweet of you boys."

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Y...you flooded the planet... WHY?!"

"T)(is planet was on my list to take over silly!"

"You 2iick fuck! How can you rule a planet that'2 fuckiing dead?!"

"That doesn't matter. You have to make up for w)(at you did, taking my little toys away from me like that wit)( your stupid powers." She holds her hand out and Sollux tries to blast her, but he has no energy left at all.

")(e)(e)(e! )(ow cute! Don't struggle little Psiioniic. Your life will serve a purpose." She grabs Sollux around the neck and puts memories in his head... Images of his friends dying and the ancestors being murdered... He did this... yes... Sollux is the one that did this.

"ii...ii kiilled them..."

"Yeeess you did. And now you )(ave not)(ing. So you'll come wit)( me to do your job, isn't t)(at rig)(t?"

"Ye2..."

"Good boy."

The Condesce looks up into the sky as it descends upon the two of them. The queen walks inside of her ship with Sollux in tow, and when the hatch closes behind them, the ship takes off.

The screen stops playing memories and turns black again.

Feferi's eyes are wide and she reaches into the portal quickly!

"No! Don't stop there! Show me more!" The portal rejects her hand and cuts it to smitherines. She screams and pulls her hand back quickly, pink blood pouring from her completely mangled hand. It drips onto the stage and she gasps. The pain hurts worse than her realization that she probably shouldn't have come alone, but she takes off her rain coat and tries to wipe away the blood with her good hand! Shit shit shit! She's in trouble if ANYONE comes to her. She'll have to kill them no matter who it is... And if the people in the city notice someone's missing they'll come looking and find the group and all hell will break loose!

No no no no no no no no no no! Feferi cleans it up as best as possible and then picks the raincoat back up and wraps it around her ruined hand... The wounds reach as far up as her elbow... This is bad.

She runs as quick as she can back to the hive...

()

The day is hot as expected from the desert. But Nepeta is used to this heat by now and she travels swiftly and smoothly. It's all gravy and she runs free!

"Weeee! Hahahaha!" it's been a long time since she's been able to unleash her wild side and just RUN. Not having to fight or sneak around or be cooped up. As much as she loves her friend, it's so so so nice to just get out and be alone!

After she uses her extra energy, she finds a small creek of water! Where the hell could it be coming from? This is a DESERT after all... She follows it up stream and wonders where all the trolls are... Being on the perimeter must have taken its toll on the people who lived here. When she gets pretty far, she spots a well next to the water.

"Well hey there!" Bounding over, she looks into the well and realizes it's totally dark. Expected. She leans down on the ground and picks up a little rock and drops it to listen for how far it is...Click! Wow. That's pretty darn deep!

"Hello!" hello hello hello llo llo o o o.

"Hm!- OWCH!" A pebble hits her right in the forehead and she fumbles with it in her hand. Nepeta looks at the rock and her eyes go wide while her eyebrows furrow together...

What the hell? How the hell...

Wait!

The last time that happened was at the first hive when Tavros threw a rock into that first portal and it just rocketed back into his face. Maybe there's a portal down there too?

"Hup!" Nepeta jumps into the well and grabs onto the rope, sliding down further in. It's still dark, but the faint purple glow of the portal swirling around calmly lights things up just a little.

"Hey there little buddy!" The purple swirls go faster and disappear, forming into a memory.

"What? Just like that other one... alright whatchya got fur me!"

A blast of wind blows in Nepeta's face and the pictures shows Sollux standing inside the ship looking at his feet. The Condesce walks over to him and lightly puts her skinny fingers under his chin and has him look up at her.

"Awww. You poor t)(ing. Betrayed and left be)(ind by all of your friends. Don't worry. I've got you." She embraces the mustard blood and Nepeta can feel rage boiling in her. She isn't sure what that bitch means by betrayed and left behind by all of his friends... He wasn't! She must have lied to him. That stupid fish cunt!

Sollux doesn't hug her back, but he doesn't resist her either. The tall woman lets go and leads him away elsewhere.

The portal turns black and then turns to a different scene. There are bones on the ground in front of some ugly purple and pink things that... once held the Psiioniic. The bones are his and the horns prove it. Sollux doesn't seem to notice or care though.

"Now t)(en dear. Step inside." She smirks at the smaller troll as he walks over to it and touches the vein-y rubbery restrains. The dangling pink goo grabs at Sollux and doesn't let him go, wrapping him up, arms above his head.

"Aaaa)(. It's been a long time since I've )(ad a good psionic to power the s)(ip. Alt)(oug)( you might not be as strong as the Psiioniic, you'll be good enoug)( to get me around faster. Now be a good boy and use t)(ose psionics to move us forward!" Even with the order, Sollux just stands there and doesn't even try. The Condesce glares and kicks him in the stomach.

"DO somet)(ing you disgusting lowblood!" This time Sollux looks up at the Condesce with a glare and shoots his energy at her. Of course the tyrant dodges and screams at Sollux.

"You're lucky I kept you alive you piece of scum! You're )(ere for one reason, and one reason only and t)(at is to power MY GOD DAMN S)(IP W)(EN I FUCKING SAY SO!"

The portal turns black again and stays that way having done its job. Nepeta is ready to go into absolute rage mode, having to see her friend go through that. It's almost like Sollux is partly under some kind of mind control or something! He'd never do that on his own!... She climbs up the rope and exits the well... This can't wait. Nepeta rushes back as quickly as she can to head back to the hive.

()

For the three hours that Tavros has been looking for a place to train with his pals, he's sat and rested a few times to just get a good look at his surroundings.

He searches forever and finds nothing at all. It's a huge bummer and he wonders if he's the only one still out searching. What if the others get worried? Ah shit so much to worry about...

He... wants so badly to trust Gamzee. But even so he still doesn't know what's going on and that scares him a little. Not knowing what's going to come next is terrifying and he just hopes he can deal with it all. He hopes his friends can deal with it...

Levina would be dying when it was time for them to go since she would be the catalyst between the world the group is in now and the one Gamzee and Sollux are in... Why couldn't they go right to Gamzee? What happened in other timelines and other realities to make this the best option for everyone?... Tavros figures Gamzee must have seen many things... many deaths and many unfavorable outcomes to pick THIS.

"wHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO GAMZEE?..." A thought worms its way into his mind and he takes out the note Gamzee gave him...

"HeY tAvRoS. DaMn I mIsS yOu MaN :o( AnY tImE yOu GeT sAd Or FeEl LiKe GiViNg Up, I wAnT yOu To ReAd ThIs NoTe AnD rEmEmBeR tHaT i'M cOuNtInG oN yOu AnD wAiTiNg FoR yOu. YoU'rE a VaLuAbLe MeMbEr Of OuR gRoUp Of FrIeNdS aNd... MoSt ImPoRtAnTlY sOmEoNe I cArE aBoUt A lOt. HeH tHiS sOuNdS pReTtY cHeEsY bUt It'S tRuE. So LiKe I sAiD, iF yOu FeEl DoWn In ThE dUmPs, JuSt LoOk At ThIs NoTe AnD sMiLe FoR mE pLeAsE? I'lL sEe Ya.

YoUr ReD qUaDrAnT,

gAmZeE. :o)"

Tavros stares at it for a long time... and nods a bit.

"yEAH... hE IS WAITING FOR US... i CAN'T GET SAD JUST YET..." He folds the note up again and stands up, running further into the city to do something useful for his friends!

After another hour of searching the area he spots a building with...his sign on it!?

"w...wHAT?" Tav slows down and then walks over to it cautiously... The inside is an average hive with nothing notable about it... But there must be something in here for him to find... He sure hopes so. With a quick look into the main room he sees nothing. Same with the kitchen and most other rooms. But when he finally gets upstairs into the other rooms he sees... Weapons! Real ones! Real GOOD ones! Tavros gasps and rushes over to look at them.

"yES! fOUND SOMETHING!" A few of them are the same.

There isn't anything for Aradia.

A sweet new lance for Tavros, a sword actually inside the handle. He wonders in what situation he'll need that...

Nothing for Sollux of course.

New claws for Nepeta. They sure look dangerous... oh boy.

Terezi gets a real sword! Not just a stabby sword that comes in a cane, but a real thick heavy sword.

Kanaya gets a new lipstick... and Tavros doesn't dare touch it yet. It could explode.

Vriska gets some ... creepy glowing blue dice and a cool new sword and gun. The gun looks like it can transform, but he's not sure what.

Equius gets some new gloves with spikes on the end it looks like. And a wrench?... He must need it for something later.

Eridan's new rifle looks... even more deadly than before. It looks mostly like his Ahabs crosshairs, but it's in his color purple now and the thing has more fishiness to it, fins and gills carved into the design.

And finally Feferi's new trident looks almost exactly like the Condesce's... But now there are dazzling fucia jewels in places, and the spikes are even more spiky...

How on earth is he going to carry all of this?... He guesses he'll carry what he can- WHA!

All of the weapons shrink just enough so that they can ALL be carried!...

"gAMZEE YOU BUTT I COULDA CARRIED THEM MYSELF YOU KNOW." A little chuckle rises in his throat but he just grabs everything and stuffs what he can in his pocket. Not...Kanaya's new lipstick though... he holds that in his hand just in case it wants to blow up into whatever it does... Tavros runs down the stairs *happily noting the stairs part* and totally books it out of that hive and runs as fast as his metal legs will take him! He can't help but love how he doesn't have to feel the sting of tired legs anymore. He can almost run forever as fast as he wants in these awesome things! Yes. He was going to help his friends win this war...

And he was going to help get his fucking friends back.


End file.
